An Overdose of Invective

I have no data to support this, no focus groups or instant polls, just a gut sense: George W. Bush hurt himself when he slagged John Kerry as a Massachusetts liberal in the third presidential debate last week. "You know, there's a mainstream in American politics, and you sit right on the far left bank," he scolded. "As a matter of fact, your record is such that Ted Kennedy, your colleague, is the conservative Senator from Massachusetts." The President chuckled--heh, heh--indicating that he thought this was clever,

but he was greeted by total silence from the audience (which later laughed at...