PATHETIC

I'm trying not to call attention to these kinds of stories, but the GOP response to Kerry's recent ads is pathetic. To counter Kerry's claim that 3 million jobs have been lost under Bush, the GOP cites an article that notes that only 1.8 million jobs have been lost. I'm too lazy to find the A.P. article that the GOP cites, but I would hardly want to run on a record of losing "only" 1.8 million jobs, even if my candidate cites a higher figure. And then in response to Kerry's argument that Bush has given tax breaks to the wealthy, the GOP responds by citing a Donald Luskin article that looks at income and payroll tax figures but ignores dividend taxes and the estate tax (for starters). This is simply dishonest. No one -- and certainly nobody who is wealthy -- calculates their tax burden by looking at income and payroll taxes only. Give me a break. And in response to Kerry's claim that Bush has nominated extremist judges, the GOP is simply nonresponsive.

I don't expect too much from this genre of argument, but I'm really astounded at the weakness of the GOP's arguments here.