You knew they were coming. You could almost hear the attack dogs howling on the horizon as the Republican National Convention wrapped up. And after President Bush received a substantial bump in the polls following the convention, the packs of relentless political assailants came charging from the shadows to hit the airwaves, embarking on their rabid campaign to destroy the president.
These vicious political hacks are now seeking to drudge up old allegations about President Bush. They are recklessly charging (once again) that Mr. Bush did not fulfill his National Guard service even though his military records conclusively show that he did indeed complete his required drills and did receive an honorable discharge from the Texas Air National Guard in 1973. Remember that those slinging this mud are the same people who go into fits of hysterics when the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth get some media attention.
A new face on the horizon is Former Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes, who is garnering headlines by saying he helped Mr. Bush avoid service in Vietnam. But Mr. Barnes in 1999 said that no one from the Bush family asked for such assistance; he testified to the same fact under oath. Barnes, a Democrat, was defeated in Texas after he was implicated in a quick-profit stock scheme that was allegedly designed to win the passage of two banking bills. He is also a Kerry campaign vice chair.
CBS’ Dan Rather thinks Mr. Barnes is worthy of lots of TV airtime, even though the network’s “60 Minutes” has never featured the Swift Boat Veterans.
This desperate action is just another attempt by the Kerry campaign to change the subject from issues to insults, and from policy to the politics of personal destruction.
It’s really quite pitiful.
The president’s adversaries are also attempting to attack his character. This is being done primarily through a new book by Kitty Kelley, who has made a lucrative career by assailing public figures. This cash-for-trash book, titled “The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty,” is full of Ms. Kelley’s typical deceit. Remember that she wrote that Ronald Reagan was guilty of date rape and of attending marijuana parties during his tenure as governor of California.
This new book is so flawed that neither Time nor Newsweek magazine would serialize it. The book is coming out now because President Bush is leading John Kerry – it’s that simple. I have been told that it accuses President Bush of paying for an abortion in his younger days in Houston and actually accuses Laura Bush of selling marijuana in her college days.
Ms. Kelley must have gone to the Jerry Springer School of Journalism. The tragedy is that many in the media will treat this rag as if it is the most important work since the Bible.
We can also expect the usual suspects to join in the no-holds-barred attacks against the president. They will come from the seamy sectors of Hollywood, the so-called mainstream media and the Kerry/Edwards camp that learned political protocol at the Carville-Begala School of Scorched Earth Politics.
The left will ride the above dead horses right up until Nov. 2. Until then, their candidate will continue to routinely change his political mind on virtually every pertinent issue facing our nation – at least once – while simultaneously casting himself as a bold political leader. With Mr. Kerry, the very picture of confusion and uncertainty, it’s actually small wonder his handlers have chosen such a diabolical campaign agenda to get him elected.
The left realizes that George W. Bush is a man of character who continues to uniquely connect with growing numbers of Americans. I am praying that the more the left attempts to destroy him the more people will see through the lies and distortions and realize what a good man sits in the Oval Office.
I think of Proverbs 28:2 when I think of Mr. Bush: “When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but when the ruler is a man of discernment, understanding and knowledge, its stability will long continue.”
I believe President Bush is such a man. And this man continues to need the prayers of all people of faith. I am appealing to all believers to fervently pray for President Bush in the weeks to come, because no political leader has ever been under such fierce attack as he is about to experience. It’s going to get ugly, and those of us who love and appreciate him must stand with him with our prayers and support in these days to come.
