Word: swiftness
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While bad-mouthing "swift-boating," Michael Kinsley seems to do some of his own with his suggestion that one party, the GOP, is more inclined to use this type of tactic than the other [June 23]. L. Knickerbocker, BOLIVAR...
...material for swift-boating this year is already apparent. There is Obama's loony pastor, his friendship with a former radical, his dealings with a convicted financial sleaze. McCain's friendship with a woman lobbyist is an issue the New York Times fumbled, but it could resurface. McCain was one of the Keating Five, tied to a financial and influence scandal from the early '90s that could be brought down from the attic. And there is his alleged bad temper, a potentially legitimate issue that could be blended with his age in unsavory ways...
...swift-boat or not to swift-boat? What'll it be? Both candidates have publicly sworn off the practice, and McCain was admirably loud in denouncing the Swift Boat campaign in 2004. Of course, that was when he was still a maverick. I've been shocked by how many Democrats, in an informal poll, take the position that whatever it takes to win is justified. They say, first, that the Republicans will do anything to win, and it would be naive to attempt a higher standard. Second, they say, the stakes in this election are so high that an excess...
...Machiavellis are right, there is no hope for a civilized campaign. McCain will do what Republican candidates always do, and Obama will use skills developed over the long primary season. Or is there hope in the fact that decency is a big part of both candidates' "brands"? If so, swift-boating could backfire. But it never has before. And the most enthusiastic and skilled swift-boater so far--George Bush the Elder, who built his campaign against Michael Dukakis around the Pledge of Allegiance and a furloughed convict named Willie Horton--was also someone peddling decency as part...
...other hand, like generals and the last war, pundits are always fighting the last election. Maybe swift-boating will disappear this year. But do you want to bet the presidency on that? Your advisers are knocking on the door with a question. Swift-boat...