What to do

In an article in today's Washington Post, Lois Romano and Jim VandeHei
write that:

Several Democrats said Kerry waited too long to condemn an ad designed to undermine the cornerstone of his political career and the overriding theme of the convention that nominated him for president: his heroics in war.

"If it were me, I would have come out a lot earlier," said Steve Jarding, a Democratic strategist. "Attack ads on people's character work. It's a sad fact of American politics." Jarding, who advised Sen. Bob Graham (Fla.) during the presidential primaries, said Kerry is especially vulnerable to misleading attacks because most voters still do not know much about him. "When someone levels a negative attack, particularly when it goes to your character, you have to respond" immediately, he said.

Which raises the question: What to do in the face of an opposition that attacks relentlessly and lies pathologically?

For those that may have forgotten all the lies hurled by Bush and his cronies at Kerry here are just a few:
1) Kerry voted for tax hikes 350 times.
2) Kerry believes we should be "sensitive" to terrorists.
3) Kerry lied about his service in Vietnam.
4) Kerry does not understand the War on Terrorism.
5) Kerry looks French.
Not to mention the constant ridicule and taking words out of context in order to fabricate a gaffe when none previously existed.

What is Kerry to do? Spend the entire campaign on the defensive, taking issue personally with every stupid lie that crosses Bush's lips? When a group of right-wing smear mongers take to the air waves and publish a book inexplicably attacking Kerry's war medals does he stop his post-convention tour and focus solely on hitting back at Bush? When the Vice President of the United States ridicules Kerry for using the word "sensitive" to describe how he might work with allies, twisting it into an example of Kerry not understanding the War on Terrorism should Kerry simply spend the day on the campaign trail rebutting him and explaining what he meant.

Clearly a judgment needs to be made about the veracity of these attacks and when a direct response by Kerry is necessary (as it was to the swift boat ad) but can Kerry really be criticized for not spending all his time defending against Bush's baseless attacks?