NASA Denies Dirty Trick

Monday The Kerry campaign demonstrated extremely bad judgement in letting candidate Kerry pose in a "bunny suit." Yesterday the campaign exercised even worse judgement by accusing NASA of engaging in dirty tricks.

NASA denies the dirty tricks charge. The Washington Times reports that NASA told Fox News that the Kerry team saw the photos before publication and passed on their release:

A NASA spokesman told the top-rated cable network that the images were given to the Kerry campaign to review before several were posted on the Kennedy Space Center Web site.

In no way were photographs "leaked," the spokesman said.

[. . .]

According to the Fox News Web site (www.foxnews.com), the NASA spokesman said the space agency provided a photographer to document Mr. Kerry's tour, but said NASA released no images directly to the press.

The Kerry campaign should have just maintained its position that the pictures were intended to show Kerry as a visionary science fan and drop it. By making the bogus dirty tricks charge the Kerry campaign not only hurt the campaign's credibility but they ensured another day of press and blogosphere coverage.

Kerry should consider returning Cahill to Senator Kennedy's staff and see if Joe Trippi could be persuded to run the Kerry campaign. That could be a scream.

UPDATE: To emphasize what poor judgement it was for the Kerry campaign to make the bogus dirty trick charge here's a roundup of some of the blogoshpere coverage they might have avoided.

Captain Ed at Captain's Quarters explains why the way Kerry's campaign dealt with the bunny suit pictures matters:

If Kerry isn't man enough to take responsibility for his own actions, why should anyone vote to give him responsibility for leading and protecting the free world?

Steven Taylor at PoliBlog calls this exercise in poor judgement "bunnygate."

Rita at Res Ipsa Loquitur also doesn't buy the Kerry campaign's dirty trick charge.

PhilBlog.com and Bonfire debunk the dirty trick charge by pointing out that Kerry is obviously posing for photos.

Josh Reighley at Fingertoe.com suspects that the Kerry campaign might be lying.

New England Republican posts that Kerry always blames someone else.

Robbernard.com posts that Nasa is now part of the VRWC.

Comments

[Rita]

Thanks for the link! Kerry doesn't look any more goofy than the other 3 guys in that obviously posed photo. I don't see why his campaign people are making such a big fuss about it.