jim,

I can understand that. Part of my opinion is based on reports from the Wall Street Journal that said that Karl Rove is tightly bound in with the soft money campaigning, and indeed, is directing the messaging to a large extent. If the money is being controlled by 527 groups, you're right, they _should_ be independent. But the ads I've seen thus far all have the tagline, "I'm George Bush, and I approved this message." And again, there are multiple published reports I've seen in reputable sources that indicate that Karl Rove knows these folks' phone numbers by heart, just as I'm sure Terry McAuliffe knows the way to MoveOn's headquarters.

But more to the point, if President Bush agrees that it is dishonorable to misrepresent and degrade Senator Kerry's military record, it would be honorable for him to disavow those who are doing so, if they are acting without his approval. It unfortunately has been his past behavior to not do so, which is one of the things that causes me to have a lower regard for him.