For some reason, the conventional wisdom holds that in order for John Kerry to reclaim control of the Presidential campaign, he must be willing to get down into the muck with the Bushies, put on his brass knuckles and to fight dirty, if necessary. Thus, we have seen him challenge the manhood of the Vice President the last two days, questioning whether someone who received five deferments during the 1960's can contribute anything to the national dialogue on fighting terrorism. In so doing, he has looked petty and small, forgetting that most American males of his generation stayed out of Vietnam with dodges similar to the Veep and the Commander-in-Chief, and giving off the air of desperation.

In fact, the more reliable post-convention polls show that Bush has a small lead, not surprising following a month in which Kerry was limited as to what he could spend, and Bush received the benefit of being in charge of the country during the Summer Olympics, when incumbent presidents always receive a significant boost. The gap, which Josh Marshall reports is close to four points, can be easily overcome without any dramatic change in strategy, simply by letting events in Iraq and the economy run their course.

Thus, the fact that Bush is about to have his own version of the "Swift Boat" book published should give liberals pause. Gossip Kitty Kelley is purportedly set to release a book that alleges, among other things, that the President has had a series of mistresses and a more significant drug habit than previously acknowledged. It also alleges that the President's mother is "almost a practicing witch", that the first President Bush may have a few incidents of statutory rape under his belt, and that the Anthrax mailings of 2001 were actually done by government agents to cover up embarassing photos of the President that were in the possession of the editor of the National Enquirer.

I really hope that this book gets the scorn it deserves, and not just because I believe that this campaign has already devolved into the sewer. The charges Kelley lays out are so wacky and bizarre so as to embarass Lyndon LaRouche, and will surely discredit her more serious allegations in the minds of most readers. In addition, Bush is pretty much innoculated against any attacks on his character prior to 1988, thanks to his religious conversion. His base does not hold his coke-snorting and boozing against him, for the simple reason that he has mastered the language of the born-again convert. Accuse him of living a dissolute life, and he will vaguely confirm it; actually prove that he freebasing at a Texas bordello in 1984, and the President's supporters will simply shrug and acknowledge that he was a sinner back before he found Jesus.

So lets just ignore this book, and focus instead on Bush's execrable record over the past four years. That gives us plenty of ammunition to fire at the Republicans, without diminishing ourselves and the political process. Down the other path madness lies [link via Tony Pierce].