Shooting fish in a barrel

Republicans have mired themselves in a rhetorical swamp and sufficient thrashing on their part now ought to sink them. However, if you would like to engage in a bit of mud-flinging I suggest...

If a Republican attacks Kerry for attacking Bush DURING A TIME OF WAR!, calmly point out to them that Bush declared our Mission Accomplished. Therefore, you are simply being critical of a nation-building exercise which is something Bush himself engaged in while campaigning (i.e. "I'm worried about an opponent who uses nation building and the military in the same sentence").

If a Republican suggests a terror attack this summer is Al Quaeda's way of getting you to vote for Kerry, tell them you had decided to vote for Kerry a long time ago and weren't going to let any terrorist influence your vote because that would be cowardly.

If a Republican suggests Democrats are soft on terror, remind them that Democrats won two world wars and backed the Ruskies out of Cuba and that when the world trade center was bombed on Clinton's watch, the perps were caught, arrested, and sent to rot in prison (thank you James Carville).

When you think about it, the Republican strategy is to paint liberals as gloaters for being correct about Iraq. So, don't gloat. Talk about the need to restore our credibility abroad by taking a new course, away from the stubborn Bush policies that are bankrupting our children's America.

If you feel like gloating, think about the soldiers in Iraq for a moment and it will quickly pass. Our marines have served us and now it is time for us to serve them by driving the neo-cons out. It should be like shooting fish in a barrel, shouldn't it?