Crazy Like a Fox

I admit it. I've been pretty critical of the Bush Campaign. I thought they were incompetent, insulated from reality, too timid. I was beginning to consider the possibility of a (shudder) Kerry presidency. If Bush was going to win, it would be by the thinnest of margins, a la 2000.

I should have had more faith. The Bushies are beginning to make some exquisitely shrewd political moves in advance of the Republican Convention. Using the controversy over the incredibly effective Swift Boat Veterans ads, Bush has just pulled off a major coup.

This is a classic. By threatening a lawsuit, they effectively distance the campaign from the Swift Boat Veterans, while at the same time calling attention to the enormous amount of money the Democrat 527's have been spending. The resignation of their campaign lawyer cast a spotlight on the incestous relationship of the Democrat 527's and the Kerry campaign. And they have effectively brought McCain back into the fold with the lawsuit.

Best of all, nothing will happen until the campaign is over.

So the Bush campaign has outflanked the Democrats and regained the moral high ground, the Swift Vet ads will continue, McCain is now back on board, and the Democrat 527's and their dealings have been exposed.

Not a bad piece of work.

Stephen Den Beste predicted something like this a few months ago. His entire post is worth reading, but these quotes sum it up the best:

"So what I conclude is that the next Bush "masterstroke" is going to be the November election. The Republicans and the Bush administration have been biding their time, and conserving their money. They have been carefully accumulating political ammunition and have resisted the urge to expend any of it too soon. They've laid the groundwork for a very effective campaign this autumn, and the Democrats are going to get routed."

"And I am pretty confident that when they do really get serious, the consequences for the Kerry campaign will be catastrophic. After the November election, a lot of people are going to wonder why it was that anyone ever thought that Kerry had a substantial chance of winning."