One of the best ways to win is to let the other side tell its lies until the moderates and liberals all believe them. Then show with the absolute proof of their own words that they are lying.
It is very effective. If the left says Bush lied and then Bush immediately proves that that he didn't lie it is no big deal. It is a minor incident.
The worst possible situation for a liar is for someone find out he has believed a liar. The person lied to is angry with himself for being gullible but he takes it out on the liars.
Telling lies is one thing... Getting caught by those who believed the liar is quite another.
The effect on the left is devastating.
The greatest skill in politics is knowing when to spring the trap. The team of Bush and Rove are very good at timing. Ask Al Gore and John Kerry how good they are.
I agree (and many others have expressed the same idea), but timing is everything. Rove is a master of political timing, but I hope his debacle with Fitzgerald didn't cause him to delay this attack for too long. If this succeeds it will be a masterstroke, I just hope the left isn't able to "spin" this into a lastditch effort to salvage Bush's poll numbers.