The smear campaign is in full swing

When someone says something one doesn't like, there are several ways to deal with it. In politics, it appears that smearing the opposition is the preferred option these days.

Joshua Sharf talks about Jimmy Carter and his attack on Zell Miller. Carter has attacked Miller for the speech Miller gave at the Republican convention. Carter didn't attack the contents of the speech, he attacked Miller personally. Sharf has some good comments to Carter's letter attacking Miller.

Kitty Kelley is set to release a new book about the Bush family. In the book she will allege that George Bush did use illegal drugs until the late 1980s or early 1990s. Her source is Sharon Bush, former sister-in-law to George W. Bush. Sharon is now estranged from the family. Sharon was married to George's brother Neil, but apparently the divorce was messy (as they usually are). One problem. Sharon is denying she said George W. Bush used illegal drugs. Howard Kurtz at the Washington Post has a good write up on the story. Of course the book will sell well, but the source for the allegations is saying Kelley did not get the information from her.

The Democrats are claiming Bush did not meet the requirements to the Guard and he was AWOL or a deserter. Byron York goes through the Bush's record during his Air National Guard days and shows how Bush did meet his obligation for each of the six years. Even the year he was in Alabama.

And finally, Oliver North wrote an open letter to John Kerry. North and Kerry have a history as it was Kerry who was grilling North over Iran-Contra which ended North's military career and started his current career as a commentator and writer and sometime politician.