March 19

Not what you'd call a good week for Senator John Kerry.

On top of everything else, he could certainly have done without this, even if many observers don't seem to be entirely sure what it means.

His ski trip provided some personal respite, but the Bush campaign's ad offensive shows no sign of letting up.

John McManus from the 'Grade The News' project at Stanford has a nice piece on AlterNet about the role of advertising and dirty politics.

As he says:

"Print, Web and especially broadcast journalists must find a way to regain center stage. As some national newspapers have already begun to do, they must put deceptive ads on trial and expose their falsehoods early and often. "

Both candidates, meanwhile, continue to try to define their opponent on their own terms.

There are three more Democratic caucuses on Saturday; in Alaska, Guam and Dick Cheney's "home" state, Wyoming.

March 17

With victory in the Illinois primary sending John Kerry formally over the delegate total required to seal the nomination, he continues to concentrate on what he sees as the Bush administration's "credibility gap".

Vice-President Dick Cheney fought back, accusing the Democratic nominee of flip-flopping over national security and defence issues.

As ABC's The Note points out, "when we're all talking national security, we're not talking jobs, the economy and health care."

The latest Bush TV ads go even further, saying Kerry had "voted against funding our soldiers". Kerry, for his part, promised to be a "veteran's veteran" as he goes about the task of maintaining a solid image among voters over national security.

The challenge of cementing Kerry as a President-in-waiting is laid at the feet of Mary-Beth Cahill, who's profiled nicely in the Washingon Post today.

Finally, it's worth checking out Spinsanity's head-to-head between Al Franken and Rich Lowery, an outgrowth of their original sparring on the National Review Online.

March 15

It seems Senator Kerry might have overreached the other day at a fundraiser in Florida when he claimed that he had met with foreign leaders who had, in one way or another, encouraged his candidacy.

After being called on the claim by a heckler (admittedly a Bush supporter) at a rally, Kerry backtracked to say he had "heard from" foreign leaders who were keen for him to defeat President Bush, but declined to provide details.

Something like that is more than just semantics. It may even be true, but Kerry should be experienced enough to know that if he makes that sort of assertion in public, he's going to have to back it up.

It's a standard he should observe himself so he is better equipped to hold the Bush team to it.

The Bush team, meanwhile, is coming under scrutiny over a series of video 'news releases' on medicare which may have crossed that fine line between information and propaganda.