Is Palin being swiftboated?

I have little respect for wikipedia as a reliable source of objective data. I actually avoid going there unless there's absolutely no other choice, but as I searched the internet for a reliable definition of the term "swiftboating" I found plenty of people willing to toss it about with careless abandon at anyone they happened to disagree with at the moment, much like the term "fascist" has been tossed around, I realized there exists no real definition of the word.

To begin with the initial concept that the Swift Vets did something wrong, is wrong. They told the truth. It was simply truth the Left didn't like. The Left also tried to coin a new term out of the impeachment of Bill Clinton, using the invented verb "Kenneth Starr"to refer to the abnormal focusing on embarrassing trivia to malign someone's character. Since the Left was battling not only the fact that Kenneth Starr didn't dig up trivia, but actual crimes as well as an awkwardly phrased verb, it failed to stick. But somehow they've managed to make "swiftboating" stick in spite of its false basis.

Anyway, back to wikipedia. I found several definitions at urbandictionary.com, but it seems it also uses a "democratic" approach to definitions and allows people to vote on which definition they think best fits the term. As Rush Limbaugh has repeatedly told us, truth is not derived from popular vote. Their primary definition limits "swiftboating" to people who have served in the military. But observing the uses to which the left (the inventors of the term) have stretched it, it is obvious that they have not limited it's use to only those who have served in the military. so, their second definition seems more accurate...

A political ploy whereby allegations, falsehoods, exaggerations, or distortions are publicized to discredit a person or entity and have the intended effect that public attention is drawn to the ensuing controversy about the veracity of the allegations and away from some other political embarrassment.

Since urbandictionary.com uses as flawed a method as wikipedia, I figured, in spite of my distaste for it, to also offer their definition...

American political jargon that refers to the unsubstantiated allegations of a politician's personal history, or unsubstantiated allegations on other levels, by people who may or may not have accurate information and the publishing of such.

By now it's obvious by the use of the term, that it is not an American political jargon, but a Liberal, American political jargon. What has been done these past few weeks to Sarah Palin obviously falls within both definitions, yet can anyone point to one conservative source that is calling it "swiftboating"? I searched and I couldn't find any.

Moreover, can anyone point out one Liberal source (some of whom actually have objected to some of the attacks on Palin and her family) who have used the term to describe those attacks? I couldn't find any.

Just like the term "Bush Doctrine" it can only be found used on leftist web sites or news sources. They are words that more or less exist only within their own groups, and not in the public at large.

Ironically, inspite of the obvious comparison between what Lefists claim happened to John Kerry and what has actually happened to Sarah Palin, it was Barack Obama who whined that he was being "swiftboated" when he was asked to apologize for his obvious reference to Sarah Palin in his infamous "lipstick on a pig" speech.

Posted by Danny Carlton at September 13, 2008 4:26 PM