Chris Kofinis, former spokesman for Democratic candidate John Edwards, was recently on Dan Abrams' MSNBC program emphatically warning that the Republicans will most certainly attempt to "Swift Boat" Obama, and have already started to do so. He said make no mistake, they'll get the 527s into action and Obama should be prepared for the same sort of groundless smearing that went on four years ago.

Of course, Kofinis is 100% correct, but it's funny how you never hear the yammering dunderheads on the right ever sound the same cautionary alarm. You never hear Rush or Hannity or Kristol exclaim, "My fellow Republicans, please get ready for the onslaught of the Dem smear machine -- you know, the likes of which they do each election cycle."

Yeah, right. The fact is even before Karl Rove raised it to a new level, the GOP has always been about doing whatever it takes to win elections -- lie, insinuate, infer, imply, distort, whatever. Sling the scum, make an impact, hopefully win the election, and then tolerate the criticism after its over (ho hum, yawn, big deal at that point). It would just be laughable to hear anyone on the right even hint at accusing the Dems of likely to "Swift Boat" McCain. Beyond the fact it just doesn't happen, given the many ripe and fair-game targets provided by The Maverick, Obama should be able to attack above-board at will, scoring points steadily in the months ahead.