August 20

The anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth continue to generate much heat in disproportion to the exposure of their message, with the release of their second television commercial.

There's an excellent deconstruction of what it all really means and in what context it should be seen in The New York Times.

It may just be a case of throw enough mud, some of it will stick; or there may be more to it. Even so, it could backfire as a strategy, since sooner or later it will force Kerry to talk about his own experiences in the context of his opponent. Up until now, the Democratic challenger has answered charges only specifically on his own service record.

As for the Bush-Cheney campaign's new TV spot pegged around the Olympics - and how athletes fom Iraq wouldn't be able to take part if it wasn't for the US - Sports Illustrated has a nice piece saying, er, hold on a minute...

And finally, off to bed with you all - you need to get up bright and early to make it to the local Ticketmaster outlet ahead of the 10am release time for the Vote For Change tour shows.