Last night I was reading up on John Kerry and what might or might not have transpired between him and an intern, and I came across this site that suggested the rumor came from a recently fired Kerry campaign official by the name of Chris Lehane. Apparently, Lehanes got a history when it comes to dirty tricks.
Speaking of dirty tricks, I also found an interesting discussion of push polling, the practice of throwing dirt on your opponent by suggesting things that arent really the case in the course of polling. Heres part of the discussion:
Let’s rewind history and study another rumor, one which cost Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) his candidacy in 2000. McCain was running a close campaign against George Bush in South Carolina, when Karl Rove introduced his brilliant strategy: push polling (Rove has been involved in push polling since the early 70s). Essentially, calls were made to households asking Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain for president if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child? Many took this to say that he had one, and seeing McCain and his wife on stage with their adopted Bangladeshi daughter, concluded that the rumor was true. The sight of the little dark skinned girl made the seed planted earlier grow, and McCain ended up losing South Carolina and subsequently dropping out of the race.
At any rate, it looks as though this is why Dean has now said that he would stay in the race even if he doesnt win a single primary next week. Theres blood in the water and Kerry, although in the lead, might not make it to shore.
