Interesting exchange on CNN Miles O'Brien, Paul Begela & Tucker Carlson

Saw this interesting exchange on CNN today.

O'BRIEN: Tucker, when the president says, I have no problems with Senator Kerry's war record, admirable record, whatever the exact words are, and then refuses to denounce the ad, which trashes his war record, there's a not-too-subtle message for voters, isn't there?

CARLSON: Well, sure. I mean, look, of course the Bush people like the ad. It's against Kerry. Why wouldn't they? But the fact is Kerry from day one, meaning two years ago when he started running, two and a half years, has said, judge my service in Vietnam. Judge it. Judge it well, of course, judge it to my benefit, but make a judgment on it.

And here people are making a judgment on it, an informed judgment, and suddenly it's out of bounds. Bush should say, no, it's in bounds, because it is in bounds, come on.

BEGALA: That at least would be an honorable thing to do. Tucker is advising President Bush to actually take a stand, which would be nice. If the president believes these are legitimate charges, he should repeat them, state them and try to make an issue of them in the campaign.

If he believes they're illegitimate, as John McCain and John Warner, the Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman, former Naval secretary, many serious Republicans think he should disavow them. But he's trying to have it both ways, and he risks looking wimpy. I mean, Bush's whole political persona is, I'm a tough guy, a Texas tough guy. And Kerry, you know, pokes at that when he reminds people that, while John Kerry was a decorated war hero, George W. Bush was a cheerleader at Andover who didn't even show up for his National Guard duty in Alabama, and Bush risks looking like a wimp when he won't take a stand.

O'BRIEN: I mean, the term that has been thrown around is flip flop. I mean, this is kind of having it both ways, isn't it, Tucker.

And by the way, who's that on the Harley? Is that Joey Bishop pulling up, or...

CARLSON: This is Hoboken, Miles. It could be anybody. This is a Harley-Davidson-friendly town, and Amen that it is.

O'BRIEN: I'm told in my ear -- no, no, I'm told Tucker that's Bob Novak on the Harley, isn't that right?

(LAUGHTER)

CARLSON: Bob's got a Corvette; next step, Harley-Davidson.

BEGALA: Yes, he's wearing the black leather jacket. It says Bad Mama Jama on the back.

CARLSON: Yes, I mean, look, of course -- of course they are having -- I mean, this is the whole point of 527s and all independent expenditures is the campaigns -- all campaigns get to have it both ways. You get some of your allies to say particularly savage things, you don't have to take credit for the savageness, but you get the benefit of the attack. Who cares?

O'BRIEN: Well, but does that take away...

BEGALA: When the Bush campaign says the senator is a flip flopper -- and what senator is not a flip flopper if you look at their record -- isn't that statement kind of undermined by saying he has a good war record, but I'm not going to denounce this commercial?

CARLSON: Well, look, the whole attack on -- as a flip flopper isn't so interesting to me. I mean, smart people evolve, OK? They change their minds. There's no problem with that.

The real critique of the Kerry campaign is that it's not about anything. Running on your Vietnam service four months 35 years ago, that's great and everything, but what are you going to do, for instance, about Muqtada al-Sadr? Should we kill him or not? Questions like that Kerry hasn't even begun...

O'BRIEN: Well, and Paul Begala, let's end with you on that. The point is, I mean, really, this is bogged down in the marshes of Vietnam of all places. And really, when you look at trying to come up with some substantive differences between Bush and Kerry on the war, there's no daylight between them, is there? BEGALA: Exactly. Well, there is some. There is a whole lot.

First off, there's the question of voracity and credibility. Kerry says that Bush misled us into the war. Huge numbers of Americans agree with that.

But today, Kerry did try to take Tucker's advice -- I don't know if Tucker's been calling him this morning -- but Kerry came to New York City -- right behind us -- gave a speech at the Cooper Union -- a serious setting where Abraham Lincoln gave his most famous pre- presidential speech. And he laid out an economic agenda.

He wasn't talking about Muqtada al-Sadr, but he was talking about the economy. He was talking to those voters who were in that piece that Peter Viles filed just a few minutes ago on your show, Miles. And trying to get this back on what's happening in America today rather than what happened in Vietnam 35 years ago.

That's the winning strategy for Kerry. It's to make it about issues and ideas and take it to Bush on those issues.