OK, it's time for Kerry to go after Bush on his draft dodging, party-boy days. Because the continued debacle over "is he or isn't he a war hero" has dragged on for far too long.

I understand that Kerry has wanted to play "above the fray" and not dignify the mudslinging from the W camp with any sort of acknowledgement. Unfortunately, that has not worked. However, I believe I said something a few months ago in this blog about how anyone who challenges Bush needs to match him punch for punch and maybe even counterpunch harder. This is how Bill Clinton won in 1992, and not doing this is how Dukakis lost in 1988 and how Gore "lost" in 2000.

If there's one thing most Vietnam veterans hate, more than the men who came back from the war and criticized it, it's the priveleged people who were able to weasel out of service by one stratagem or another. This is precisely what W seems to have done, Fortunate Son that he is. Not only did he manage to weasel his way into a stateside National Guard post, he even blew off most of his commitments while in the National Guard. (Yes, the pun is very much intended.)

If Kerry makes good with his pledge to start going negative on Bush's adventures in the National Guard, there is more than enough evidence put out by helpful folks all over this great country of ours to back him up. The fact of the matter is that George W. Bush has plenty of skeletons in his closet to go around. It's time to take the gloves off.