MARK PENN STILL DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL HE'S TALKING ABOUT

Remember Mark Penn, the campaign genius who helped Hillary Clinton lose the Democratic nomination this year, partly because he couldn't master little details like the fact that the California Democratic primary is not, in fact, winner-take-all?

Well, today he has a Politico piece about possible pitfalls for Barack Obama in the homestretch of a campaign, in which he says, among other things, that

... a campaign’s closing couple of weeks can be unexpectedly treacherous. Just ask John F. Kerry...

... during the presidential campaign's closing weeks, Kerry got hit by the famous Swift boat attacks.

Er, Mark?

The Swift boat attack ads began airing on August 5, 2004; a New York Times story dated August 20 discussed Kerry's response "[a]fter weeks of taking fire over veterans' accusations that he had lied about his Vietnam service record." The Swift boat book, Unfit to Command, was published on August 25 and hit #1 on the September 5 New York Times bestseller list.

Well, at least you had the right year, Mark. That has to count for something.