What is this, a cold sales call?

From my point of view, the National Guard thing was not about calling Bush a coward. It was about how he got there, and why. He's a child of privilege, whose family bought him out of the big war, and who is eager to go to war without having much of a handle on what it means. He plays the tough guy, but hasn't got the credits to support the role.

If the people who support Bush think that this is the definition of cowardice, that's their problem. Cowardice is a lot bigger and more damning than that. If they think that the entire National Guard is dissed because one rich kid seriously jumped the line, they are mistaken. It's the exercise of privilege that rankles.

The Swift Boat People have evidence. It contradicts itself, but it's on paper. We can't have a Democrat own the tough guy position because there's too much invested in painting Democrats as wusses. Besides, that's always belonged to the Republicans, dammit! So, if you can't say the Democrat wasn't in Vietnam, if you can't say he isn't a veteran of combat, the next best thing is to make it sound like he was already running for President and planning how to twist his record, even back then. Talk about your conspiracy theorists!