The Centrality of the Vet., and the media mufflers

John O' Sullivan has a good analysis of why the Swifties are going to haunt Kerry till the end. His on the money conclusion:

' Kerry's testimony, given at a time when the Democrats were fiercely anti-war, was a large stepping stone to his present eminence. But the contradictions of being a war hero and an anti-war hero have finally caught up with him. That is why the swift boat veterans will ignore pleas from Bush or anyone else to halt their campaign.'

Contradiction is one of the central weaknesses of modern life, and Kerry's life has really entered into the spirit of it .

He's still at it, says Captain Ed in a piece which reminded me of this from P.J. O'Rourke, which came out very quietly in the Weekly Standard before the brouhahas began. It was convincing even at that time of passivity and relative ignorance of Kerry.

Meanwhile, this well exposed sleight of history is indicative of the quality of Kerry's defence, offered by his friends in the big media.