Wizbang us to Newsweek’s extensive insider report on the two Presidential campaigns, and declares it required reading. Never one to refuse Mr. Aylward, I have begun complying.
My favorite passage so far describes John Edwards reaction when told that some of the accusations against Kerry made by the Swift Boat Veterans were, er, true:
“[Edwards’ aides] warned the veep candidate that the story was already out of control and about to get worse. Historian Douglas Brinkley, author of a wartime biography of Kerry, cautioned that Kerry’s diary included mention of a meeting with some North Vietnamese terrorists in Paris. Edwards was flabbergasted. “Let me get this straight,” the senator said. “He met with terrorists? Oh, that’s good.”
Oh, and I like this one too:
The Kerry campaign did work closely with the major dailies, feeding documents to The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe to debunk the Swift Boat vets. The articles were mostly (though not entirely) supportive of Kerry, but it was too late. The old media may have been more responsible than the new media, but they were also largely irrelevant.