Outfitting The Swift Boat

It’s so fresh, the cement hasn’t had a chance to dry.

But just wait. Because, Rove — through his disciple, McCain campaign manager, Steve Schmidt — has now set in place the framing designed for Obama’s popularity, charisma, freshness, youth and religiosity to turn on itself.  Not to say there aren’t refinements to be made, and more stages to come.  Still, two-thirds of  phase one has already been accomplished, involving the formulation of the key visual terms and their injection into the political bloodstream.  The next step — and you can bet the surrogates are already in place — is just to repeat it over and over again.

And if high-minded Democrats — responding from the left brain — either dismiss it, or insist it isn’t going to work, I’d say, it’s already working.

For example, take a look at these two random wire images from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees convention on Friday.  Given the rhetorical viruses launched last week, and ironically, but not accidentally, boosted into high orbit virtually free-of-charge by both the left-wing internets and the media (plus, recruits Britney, Paris and Charlton Heston), it is hard to look at these images — which would otherwise have been so uncomplicated and adoring two weeks ago, and not sense the new overlay.

(images: David Paul Morris/Getty.  July 31, 2008.  San Francisco)