Perfect …
As we wrote earlier, Max Cleland and Jim Rassman went to the president’s “ranch” today to present him with a letter from a number of Democratic vets in the Senate asking him to denounce the Kerry smears.
Cleland got stopped at the first roadblock.
He tried to give the letter to secret service officials guarding (giving the word rather a new meaning) the president. But the president got a political ally from Texas, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson — who is also a vet — to show up and offer to take the letter, if Cleland would take a letter from him in exchange.
(The press accounts I’ve seen thus far don’t mention what the Bush campaign letter said.)
Cleland told him never mind; he’d rather stick it in the mail.
That prompted Patterson to utter this pricelessly unlovely retort …
“I tried to accept that letter and he would not give it to me,” said Patterson. “He would not face me. He kept rolling away from me. He’s quite mobile.”
Yes, quite mobile. Classic.
Did I mention that President Bush is addicted to having others do his dirty work for him?
Am I honor-bound to thank him for giving me this priceless example?
I don’t want to be accused of not doing my duty.
(Late Update: Here’s the letter from Patterson, from the Bush campaign website. Without naming them directly, it turns out to be a letter claiming that Kerry is pursuing a double-standard by giving such a rough-shake to the Swift Boat group.
I guess the campaign has had a change of mind about whether it wants to stick up for the Swift Boat group. Or perhaps being afraid to name them specifically — as per President Bush’s comments a couple days ago — means it doesn’t count?)
