Swift Boat 2. Will Kerry let the GOP define his Senate record for him?

[Armstead]

Here's an example of what is so frustrating aboiut the Kerry campaign.

It's well known that the GOP is going to come out hard against Kerry's Senate record. They already have been, but they are going to really go after it with hammer and tong. They are going to up with "Swift boat" equivalents about his senate performance.

Unfortunately, Kerry has NOT been defining his own Senate record first. His campaign has not even really responded to weeks of the GOP spreading the meme about "avoiding his Senate record of 20 years" in any meaningful way. Everytime it comes up with a Kerry surrogate, they just brush right past it.

Is Kerry going to wait until the begin this frontal assault, perhaps this week? If he does, then instead of portraying himself as an effective senator on HIS terms, he will merely be responding to the GOP's portrayal of him as ineffective and an ultra liberal.