Wow. This is the political genius of the Bush campaign? The well-oiled machine? The fearsome monster that chewed up John McCain and Al Gore and spat them out, bedraggled and confused? Ezra Klein said it a while ago: color me unimpressed. Mike Isikoff, via Atrios:

Another less-publicized aspect of the ad flap: the use of paid actors—including two playing firefighters with fire hats and uniforms in what looks like a fire station. "Where the hell did they get those guys?" cracked Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, which has endorsed John Kerry, when he first saw the ads. (A union spokesman said the shots prompted jokes that the fire hats looked like the plastic hats "from a birthday party.") "There's many reasons not to use real firemen," retorted one Bush media adviser. "Mainly, its cheaper and quicker."

Indictments coming, possibly on multiple fronts. The ship is sinking.

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