On the other hand, the argument could be made that when one's character is impugned, the best defense is witnesses other than one-self. Where were the other Dems, when their standard-bearers (who were known to be almost too good to be true: Gore was routinely referred to as a "boy-scout" by those who seemingly knew him well; Kerry needs no other witness beyond VVAW and his whole career) were being so vicously attacked? If your own will not stand up for you, who will, given that you are not yourself a credible defender of your own integrity beyond your actual conduct?

What was done to the reputations of Gore and Kerry did not really demean the media and the Rethugs in my eyes, they each had at least some perverted self-interest -- what was in the silence of/for the Dems? It nearly made me a cynic, an eternal optimist. I have said it many times on this forum and because it is so critically important, I will say it again, until the Dems stand up for each other, it doesnt even matter that the voting machinery is rigged.

Two glaring examples how bad the situation is for Dem Presidential candidates: When Gore had won the popular vote, when innumerable AA's had arguably been disenfranchised in Florida, and in the face of brazen rethug unity, there was Ed Rendell on Chris Matthews' show "Gore should pack it in"! And here you had Kerry, the guy who fought for his country and spoken out against an unjust, unwinnable war, attacked by the troop-supporting whack jobs on the right and nary a peep from the Dems on the talking head shows, which is were visibility for an issue is won. Kerry tried to defend himself and the Dems piled on him, saying he should not have been so serious about it.

If I didnt know better, I would have thought I was watching a bizarre movie...

The wing nuts seem to run better campaigns only because the media will not amplify in their echo chamber the gaffes that the boy-king made in both campaigns. I will catalog them in a later post...