[madape]

The minimal negative impact of this will last about as long as the whole Air National Guard AWOL thing. The democrats can try, but they will never be able to convince people that Kerry is tougher on terrorism, or stronger on defense than Bush. It's a fruitless effort. The dhims can wail and pout and cry, but on election day, 99% of the people who consider defense and the war on terror the most important issues facing this country will vote Bush. The more this issue is talked about, the more engraned this issue becomes in the minds of the populace. Fighting Bush on terrorism is a losing strategy for the dhims.

And while the left is pumping all their resources into sliming Bush's historic fight against terror, the republicans are hitting Kerry where it counts - defining him as a liberal, tax-raising, elitist, Massachusetts democrat.