Bullshit and Shame

In a front page story, the New York Daily News does Karl Rove's work and lies about Senator John Edwards. I don't have the time to do a full Somerby, but the point is that Gwen Ifill raised the fact, not Edwards, and Cheney himself "invaded the privacy" of his own family months before the V.P. debate.

The Republicans see it differently. After all, John Edwards raised it unilaterally in the vice presidential debate, much to the irritation of the veep, who thanked Edwards for his remarks but was, in fact, ripped about them.

"People understand the invasion of privacy of a family," a top Bush campaign adviser said. "They are going to pay a price for this."

There's little argument that the gambit of making Mary Cheney's lifestyle a high-visibility issue is what the adviser calls "obviously highly calculated."

"Some cutesy person over there like [Kerry senior strategist Robert] Shrum must have got the stupid idea that they can undercut our base because Cheney has a gay daughter," the adviser said.

The theory is that homophobes in Bush's base may recoil after learning the veep they adore has a homosexual daughter.

There's little argument? There's zero evidence!

And if the chinless top Bush adviser is pointing the finger at a specific individual, Robert Shrum, the paper shouldn't give him or her anonymity.

Thomas Defrank, Celeste Katz, Kenneth Bazinet and Maggie Haberman: You're all whores.