Bush Urges Muting of Ads

As usual, Bush misses the point. Negative ads are not the problem -- it's called "free speech" and "debate." I'm sure Bush would much prefer a race in which his lousy record was off-limits. But that's not how the free market of ideas works.

The problem with the Swift Boat Liars Club ads is that they're plain, on-their-face false. They're a cheap smear, and Bush should condemn them. Do MoveOn and Micheal Moore take cheap shots against Bush? Of course they do -- and Kerry has criticized them when the situation called for it. Why can't Bush do the right thing?