Lazy, lazy, lazy

Bush twice during the day cited what he called an "independent study" that concluded Kerry's health plan would cost the taxpayers $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

The study is from the American Enterprise Institute, a Bush-friendly think tank; Vice President Cheney's wife, Lynne, was a scholar there, and one of their daughters, Liz, is a fellow. Bush aides were crowing about the study in conversations with reporters before it appeared on the conservative group's Web site.

Would it kill them to come up with some real arguments? It's just lazy to keep knocking down these straw men. When will we hear an argument from these guys that doesn't depend on distorting what Kerry said, or a mendacious count of Senate votes, or an "independent study" that isn't independent at all? Is it too much to ask that they try to put a little actual work into winning this election?

At least John Edwards is still able to laugh at such nonsense:

"Bush is today giving a speech about health care. I hear it was a short speech," Edwards said, to laughter from the crowd of 8,000 at the Tucson Convention Center. "The best I can tell, his health care plan is to pray you don't get sick."