Bush is shooting himself in the foot again.
No he is not, smart move, he saying that ad and all 527 ads need to stop running.
WELL GUESS , that means now SWIFT ads will run and Kerry can't blame BUSH for them.
Kerry will have to take on Swift Vets himself and not hide behind W.
No way. Kerry made an ass out of himself for going against GWB. Bush simply stated that he was against all 527 ads and calls on Kerry to do the same. Meanwhile the swiftvets are free to continue running ads. Kerry is left with his weewee flappin' in the wind.
Meanwhile, Kerry hasn't called for such a stoppage himself, here; and the ads will continue anyway. The President (as usual) is on the high road.
NO, not shooting himself in the foot but is disassoiciating himself from the SBTVs with this move. I think it is a good one. The swiftees can keep on making their ads and not be accused of being a front for the Bush Campaign.
This is not about Bush. It's between a traitorous lying sack of shit and the men who he betrayed 36 years ago. Those men are not bound to honor Bushes request and will not do so. And Bush has no authority to impose his will on them and will not attempt to do so. The ball is back in Kerry's court.
You are going to accept the Reuters spin on this? Listen to the actual audio clip. Bush just repeated what he has said before - that ALL ads from 527 groups, including MoveOn.org, ACT, Media Fund, etc., should end. He did not single out the SwiftVets, even though they kept trying to get him to do so.
Why?
His statements now and have been putting the pressure on Kerry to stop all 527's.
No, he's not shooting himself in the foot. The Swift Vets stated numerous times that they're going to continue running their ads regardless of what the President says. The risk for Bush here is that the Kerry campaign will associate him (falsely) with the Swift Vets and make him look like a dirty campaigner. So it's a wise move to call for the end of all 527 ads, which makes him appear opposed to dirty campaigning (because 527's are running the nastiest campaign ads.) Meanwhile the Swift Vets will continue to run ads anyway and their book will sell in huge numbers all the way through October. The book alone is devastating to Kerry. This is the correct strategery from Bush. He's been misunderestimated on numerous occasions.
You really believe that? I look at it differently. He knows Kerry isn't going to call for the other ads to stop, besides the FCC has already said they are legal under McCain/Feingold. They thought they put up a wall and the 527s drove a mack truck through them.
I thinking blaming the 527s is weak. Pres. Bush should never have signed campaign finance deform limiting political speech. Now he's calling for even more limits. The Swift Vets have every right to speak.
I suppose the White House sees this as the best tactical response to a sticky situation, but using the bully pulpit to denounce free speech is too much.
No, he is having his cake and eating it too.
I agree that he is shooting himself in the foot. Its stupid to come out and tell "that ad" to stop running. Its a total double standard. Where are the calls to stop all the hate-America MoveOn.org ads? Then again, sometimes it seems like Bush does not want to win.
Nonsense. He said "that ad, and EVERY OTHER ad". He is being consistent with their message, knowing full well that the RATs will never give up THEIR 527s, which will funnel $250 million into this election.
No, Reuters spinning the news again. It should be 'That ad AND every other ad" in the headline.
Not at all it is a wise move.
This is media spin. Read what President Bush actually said.
Only because the MSM is waging its war via misleading headlines.
No he isn't. I think it's brilliant. W knows that the SBVT are not going to quit running their ads. This posture insulates him against any further whinning from the dims. John O'Neill has said that even if W personally asked him to pull the ads HE WOULDN'T. To him it isn't political.....it's personal. W knows that.
"Shooting himself in the foot again"???? No way! He is being very smart. He is saying what he has to say to put Kerry in a corner. Believe me, the vets know exactly what the President is doing.......and approve. Fact is, they know and Bush knows (and, heh! heh!, the Demos know), that because of the stupid McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance "Reform", there is not a thing that legally can be done to stop those ads. The Democrats are kicking themselves for nominating Kerry. They would have been better off with Gore again.....believe it or not.
It's like a contest to see who can run the worst campaign.