George Bush -- A Retarded Sexual Deviant?

That seems to be Karl Rove's opinion.

How else to explain this flyer in conjunction with the manufactured and much over-hyped outrage over Mary Cheney's gayness?

Sure, the less well-informed among us may fall for the rumors that the flyer was associated with a Tennessee Democrat with nominal ties to the Kerry/Edwards campaign.

DON'T BELIEVE IT FOR A SECOND.

The flyer (not to mention the Mary Cheney idiocy) has all the earmarks of a Karl Rove dirty trick. In fact, by Rove standards, calling Bush a retard is tame. When Rove starts manufacturing outrage by accusing Bush of being a pedophile then we'll know he's hitting his stride.

Steve Clemons has the details. Josh Marshall has the context.

My guess is that we're at the beginning of Karl's three week plan to paint Kerry as mean-spirited and wicked-tempered. Afterall, only a mean and hateful man would demean special needs kids or use homosexuality as a wedge issue.

Mean and hateful? Well, Karl would know.