The Corner, right now, has a banner ad attacking VA Gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine in a fairly innovative way. First you see Tim Kaine's head on a sheep, with the message that "Tim Kaine would like you to think he's the next Mark Warner." Switch to a John Kerry's head on a sheep with the text, "But he is really a Kerry clone in sheep's clothing." Fade to both of their heads on sheep's bodies with the coup de grace: "Click here to make sure a John Kerry clone won't end up in Richmond."
The subtext, of course, is that they're sheepfuckers.
Okay, maybe not. But what is interesting is that Kerry, unlike Carter or Dukakis, didn't lose with any firmly-held meme dragging him down. There was the flip-flopper thing, sure, but no overriding impression of weakness or wimpitude. And yet here he is, the bogeyman on an attack banner. Warner, I guess, is a bit above politics in Virginia, a Democrat, sure, but not a Democrat. Tying him to Kerry is an attempt to lash him to the national party, the one full of coastal elites who sit down to roasted fetus with rice pilaf while warming themselves by a fire kindled with taxpayer dollars. Which I guess is fair enough.
Nevertheless, it's a reach. The post-election view of Kerry isn't a personal one, he's just kind of a loser. So the argument isn't that Kaine is too wimpy or liberal or corrupt, it's just that he's the first human successfully cloned from a loser, and who wants a loser in Richmond? This is schoolyard stuff. And pulling this on The National Review's website is a bit like justifying HUAC to the John Birch Society. But whatever. If my polls were dropping this quick, I'd be reaching too.
