Between Daschle's new hug debacle, Randell Beck's trouble with "facts," and the new poll showing Thune ahead, DVT had 20,000 unique hits on Tuesday. The blow-up over Daschle's new ad of him hugging Bush has been intense. Mike Madden of Gannett News has a good piece, which includes this gem:
Daschle declined to discuss the ad or the GOP response.
Maybe Daschle was talking to John Kerry: "What the h__l were you thinking?!?" Later in the story:
"I understand campaigns are cynical by their nature, but I'm sorry, this is a little too cynical for me," said Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes Senate campaigns for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
Agreed. See also RedState's piece "The politics of hugs":
Hugging Bush? Hugging Bush? How silly is that? Look, Tom, no one buys it. Media, including the blogs, have evolved enough that you can no longer make laughable claims about supporting the president in South Dakota, while throttling his priorities in Washington. Accountability has arrived.
The Rapid City Journal report is here. The Hill report is here. SDP also notes that The New Republic is highlighting the fact that, in contrast to the Republican Senate candidates, the Democratic Senate candidates like Daschle bailed out of the Democratic Convention asap. There are lots of other stories, but you get the idea. One wonders, during the whole mess, about Daschle's base. One Democrat reacts to the Daschle-hugging-Bush ad:
Good riddance: As much as I hate to see another Republican senator, Daschle has been ineffectual as a party leader. If the Bush ad is true, he deserves defeat for not sticking to his guns.
How much cynicism can they stand?
UPDATE: Daschle spokesman in WaPo:
"This ad is about Tom Daschle's efforts to bring the country together in the wake of 9/11," he said, "and certainly that moment with President Bush was part of that."
Well, an attack by a foreign enemy pulled us together, it seems to me. The question is who started refusing to attend the new bipartisan leadership breakfasts with the President after 9-11?
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