Apropos the Bitch Slap theory, see these coordinated comments from the Bush campaign, reported in this article in the Post …
Underscoring how personal the dispute has become, Bush’s campaign chairman, Marc Racicot, went on CNN and said the Kerry campaign has come “unhinged,” and that Kerry himself “looks wild-eyed.” Earlier yesterday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Kerry is “losing his cool.” In 2000, the Bush campaign used similar language to portray rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as potentially too unstable to run the country.
It’s the same cowardly rich-boy viciousness we’ve seen so many times from this guy and his family. But the Post piece gives some sobering signs about how effective it’s been.