Politics -- All We Have to Fear is the Next 61 Days

Tired of the Swift Boat Ads? Get ready to fight a whole new Battle of Vietnam on your TV screens. There’s a barrage of new charges about President Bush’s Air National Guard record about to hit the fan.

A former Texas Lt. Governor will tell 60 Minutes his role in getting a young George W. Bush into the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. Ben Barnes has been quiet on the matter since it happened. A video of Barnes saying he was “very ashamed” of his role in doing that has been circulating on the Internet.

The widow of the candidate a young George W. Bush worked for when he left Texas for Alabama in 1972, says Bush never served in the Alabama Air National Guard while there. Linda Allison says her husband, Jimmy, gave Bush the job at the request of Bush’s father. She says the younger Bush was becoming a political embarrassment to the elder Bush -- a Congressman at the time -- and the family wanted him out of Texas. When Salon asked her if she or her husband saw him do any National Guard service while in Alabama she replied, “Oh Lord, no.” (Salon.com)

Refighting the Vietnam War. This would all make good fodder for 527 groups -- the independent campaign committees like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. President Bush has condemned the groups -- if not their ads. His campaign has filed suit now to shut down 527s. Talk about timing. (Chicago Tribune)

The Candidates have Issues. Of course, all of this takes time away from the issues. You remember the issues? (Houston Chronicle)

Keeping Promises. Another look back to President Bush’s plans from his last nomination. This from the Washington Post. (WashPost)

Cooking Stale Numbers. John Kerry’s been talking a lot about the middle class shrinking. But he relies on stale numbers. He points to 2002, before the economy began to recover strongly. But now new numbers give his claims some support. FactCheck.org looks at how the numbers cook. (FactCheck.org)

If You Thought the Mudslinging was Bad -- They’re Slinging Concrete Blocks in Michigan. Vandals tossed a chunk of cement through the window at John Kerry’s campaign office in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Local Republican Committee members have an alibi -- they’re in New York at the Convention. Must be a mid-western crime wave. I told you last month about vandalism at the Barberton, Ohio Kerry office. (Detroit Free Press)