The Tennessee Liberal

I love America. I love Apple Pie and Moms and Unborn Fetuses. I love the Pledge of Allegiance and I love the idea of making God Bless America the new national anthem.

You know what I don't love? Negativity. Why must the Bush campaign be so cynical about things in the world these days? Surely it isn't because the Bush administration has let their negative view of everyone who isn't, well, them mess things up so badly they have to lie about it, right?

Scott Reed, who ran Robert J. Dole's presidential campaign that year, said the Bush campaign has little choice but to deliver a constant stream of such negative charges. With low poll numbers and a volatile situation in Iraq, Bush has more hope of tarnishing Kerry's image than promoting his own.

"The Bush campaign is faced with the hard, true fact that they have to keep their boot on his neck and define him on their terms," Reed said. That might risk alienating some moderate voters or depressing turnout, "but they don't have a choice," he said.

Well, maybe that is true. But certainly they will own up to their tactics, in an honest political way.

One constant theme of the Bush campaign is that Kerry is "playing politics" with Iraq, terrorism and national security. Earlier this month, Bush-Cheney Chairman Marc Racicot told reporters in a conference call that Kerry suggested in a speech that 150,000 U.S. troops are "universally responsible" for the misdeeds of a few soldiers at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison -- a statement the candidate never made. In that one call, Racicot made at least three variations of this claim and the campaign cut off a reporter who challenged him on it.

Well, looks like they can't even admit when they are lying and being negative.

I'm just glad I support the candidate who lies less often about his opponent.

But Bush has outdone Kerry in the number of untruths, in part because Bush has leveled so many specific charges (and Kerry has such a lengthy voting record), but also because Kerry has learned from the troubles caused by Al Gore's misstatements in 2000. "The balance of misleading claims tips to Bush," Jamieson said, "in part because the Kerry team has been more careful."

I hate Bush. But I hate Kerry less.

It would seem I am not alone.