Stop me if you’ve heard this one.

A high-profile Senator wants to run for executive office. Despite charges of elitism and being not politically consistent, the candidate seems to be running strong. The candidate runs largely on the strength of their pre-political “story,” which includes numerous accolades and awards for leadership, merit and success against the odds.

When focusing on the issues seems not to be enough, the opposition tries something different. They pull out (a) person(s) from decades past to undercut the candidate’s “story.” (A) Person(s) that have some intimate connection to the candidate’s personal narrative. The(se) person(s) claim that the candidate did not deserve the accolades and awards. That the candidate is a phony. Simply a ladder-climber. At the same time, the candidate’s “Americanism” is called into question. Despite testimony over the years to the candidate’s qualifications, the hits take a toll. The candidate loses.

And although the opposition Party claims to have played no part in the personal attacks, the fingerprints are there, and everybody knows the reality.

So, am I talking about Senator John Kerry or Senator Hinda Miller? The 2004 race for President or the 2006 Burlington mayor’s race?

Sure, there are differences. Mainly that in one election, the attackers and the attackees are not all that far apart on most issues, while in the other they were diametrically opposed in most ways. Which is worse? You tell me.

There’s been a lot of talk about Martha Rainville hiring the Swift Boat team to run her campaign’s media, and a lot of folks saying that this sort of campaigning wont fly in Vermont (remember when Susan Sweetser tried to dig up dirt on Bernie by calling his ex-wife? That didn’t work out so well for her…).

I guess we’ll know soon enough. You know the Rainville campaign is watching.

UPDATE: Yup. Dirty politics triumph again. The saddest part is that Kiss may have been able to win this outright without the Swift Boat tactics. Of course, we’ll never really know, will we?

…and now with this notion that negative campaigns dont work in Vermont firmly and finally put to rest, hold onto your seats, cuz 2006 is gonna get U-G-L-Y.