Bush campaign calls Kerry 'reactive'

President Bush's campaign manager yesterday said Sen. John Kerry is trying to compensate for his weak record on national security by savaging the president's bona fides as a war leader.

"The Kerry campaign, when it feels it has a vulnerability, has a very defensive kind of reactive approach," said Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman.

It is hard-hitting. The media and the Kerry campaign have used *defensive* constantly to show that GWB is afraid of them. *Reactive* is simply another way to say *defensive*.

The POTUS cannot come out w/the same nasty remarks Kerry does. He occupies the office and he has always treated it with respect. Were he to sink to the same level, the Dems would have a field day and could also buy a pass for Kerry by saying *everyone does it* or going back to the *Republican attack machine* sound bytes.

It is a fine line being walked here, IMO. Our side cannot just fire back nastygrams at Kerry on a daily basis. Instead, they have calmly and competently refuted the more egregious charges and almost all of it is done by surrogates. GWB has some well-crafted zingers he has aimed at Kerry and Cheney and Delay have been quite combative, in an effective and jokingly dismissive manner.

When GWB said he was a uniter and not a divider, the DNC decided they would push that to the limit and deny every single one of the POTUS' overtures across the aisle. While the president has stuck by that because he usually sticks to his guns and is therefore seen as consistent, anyone who thinks he is just going to shut up and take it forever should look to his treatments of the UN and France after the repeated slams and sandbaggings we experienced from those parties.

I think the campaign will get tougher and will get even, but , as usual, it will be a war of nerves, first. I wouldn't be surprised if the tactic is to goad Kerry into overconfidence until he makes the indefensible accusations that lack the usual wiggle room. That is when we will hopefully see Kerry self destruct.

Don't get me wrong, I have problems myself w/GWB's slow reaction style. But I remember how I was driven almost mad by the slow buildup to Afghanistan and Iraq. Daily, we heard that the administration was waiting too long, it was all FUBAR, the UN and France were winning, etc. Then, we acted and the result was excellent.

Timing is an art in politics. GWB is an experienced politician and so far in his career, his timing has been good and effective.

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