Larry Schweikart: Kerry's Swiftly Being Buried by His Friends
The Swiftboat vet story is now in day 23 and counting, with no indication whatsoever
of disappearing anytime soon. The fact that Unfit for Command has now reached
#1 on the bestseller lists is itself a fact to be reckoned with. But there are
larger currents swirling around the swiftboat controversy---currents that go straight
to the heart of a liberal---and arrogant---media.
Evan Thomas has flatly admitted the "mainstream" media is on board Kerry's
little boat. Except there is a problem: both Kerry and his media buddies suffer
from the same condescending, know-it-all, smug, arrogance that makes them loathe
to accept advice or seek help from anyone. This means that, unlike what the Kerry
campaign is whining about with the Swiftboat vets and the Bush campaign, there
was in fact probably very little collaboration between Kerry and his media buddies.
There didn't need to be: they have a "conspiracy of shared values."
This, however, meant that when the media leaped to Kerry's defense, first by trying
to tar all the fine vets in the book, then next by trying to tie Bush and Rove
to the ads, they inadvertently poured nitroglycerin on a small fire that now none
of them can put out.
It works like this. When you were in school, perhaps playing softball, and were
called out at second, you complained that the second baseman cheated. He "got
in my way." The teacher's ruling stands, and you are out. But you continue
to complain, and whine, and become obnoxious. The teacher's decision never changes----but
the rest of the classmates' opinion of you does! Kerry's initial whining, now
picked up by the liberal media, is slowly convincing millions of Americans that
he is not a leader, and, for at least some who hear about the controversy, they
now say, "what ads? What book? Why is he unfit?" Increasingly, it may
not be that people even believe the evidence in the Swiftboat vets' book (which,
if I may say, is incredibly powerful and damning). But that's irrelevant: it has
now erased two years' worth of Democratic ground-laying with the 9/11 commission
and the "Bush lied about WMDs" claims. In just over three weeks, Kerry
and the media have leveled the playing field, at the same time removing Kerry's
only serious credential for arguing that he would wage an effective war on terror.
The most amazing thing is that even today, the media is back at it, covering the
Max Cleland fiasco and Kerry's latest legal maneuvers. This was to be expected
when an arrogant press allies with an arrogant candidate. Polls out this week
show Kerry getting hammered across the board---everywhere from state polls in
OH, FL (where he now trails), MI (where his lead is down to 3%), IA and WI (where
he is only tied or trails), and AZ (where he is on the verge of being blown out.
Investor's Business Daily has analyzed the strength of his support, and found
that his "strong" support is only 2/3 that of Bush's, meaning these
"voters" ain't gonna be there on election day. Now, today, the LA Times
(which has undersampled Republicans even in this poll) and, a few days ago, Gallup
both have Kerry down by 3% nationally.
And the best news is that two other unintended consequences have come, or will
come, out of the Swiftboat ads: 1) We are finally debating the justification of
the Vietnam war and the rationale for opposing communism (and Kerry's position
is losing once again); and 2) the media has suddenly decided that campaign finance
reform isn't so great. Look for Congress to reassess CFR, and possibly repeal
it next year, after Bush wins handily.