(Guest blogged by Logan Murphy)

Last Sunday on Face The Nation, White House Counselor Dan Bartlett spoke to Bob Schieffer about former Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd. In typical Republic fashion, Bartlett goes after Dowd personally rather than speak to the the substance of Dowd's criticisms of George Bush . Bartlett refers to Dowd as a "close friend", then proceeds to talk about his personal issues to give the impression that the situation in Iraq and obstacles he's facing in his personal life have somehow clouded his judgment. This is the same despicable tactic we've seen Republicans use time and time again against former administration officials who dared to speak out against Bush.

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Schieffer: "Are you suggesting he's having some kind of personal problems and this is just what has resulted?"

Bartlett: "No, I think as expressed in the paper that he, himself has acknowledged that he's going through a lot of personal turmoil, but also he has a son who is soon to be deployed to Iraq. That can only impact a parent's mind as they think through these issues."

Nicole: While the White House smearing is to be expected, David Sirota reminds progressives not to be too sympathetic to the plight of Matthew Dowd .