Courtesy of Wizbang comes this story in which Mary Beth Cahill admits she underestimated the impact of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth:

The campaign manager for Sen. John Kerry's failed presidential bid said Wednesday she regrets underestimating the impact of an attack advertisement that questioned Kerry's Vietnam War record.

Mary Beth Cahill, who spoke at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government with Ken Mehlman, President Bush's campaign manager, said the Massachusetts senator's campaign initially thought there would be "no reach" to the ad from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

This information comes as no surprise to bloggers, who for the most part recognized right away that the ads would be trouble for the Kerry Campaign. Of course, it didn't help that Kerry was one of the worst candidates recent memory. His campaign was terrible in so many other aspects that I wonder if Bush still would've won even without the help of the Swift Vets.

Update: The guys at Powerline have weighed in.

I don't enjoy making a big deal of it (which is why you didn't see a post here), but yesterday was my birthday. I got some incredibly cool gifts (like this, for example) and genuinely had a good time despite having to study for finals all weekend and not drinking.

But you know what one of the great presents of all time is? I didn't see it mentioned in the news (possibly because I was too busy studying for finals to pay attention to it), but one year ago yesterday Saddam Hussein was captured in his infamous 'spider hole.'

I'll be enjoying that one for many years to come.

On that note, I have another gift request for anyone that may be reading this: if you know how to make some great alcoholic drinks, I would love to know what they are/how to make them. Despite being young, I know surprisingly little about alcohol; typically I have just stuck with beer or simple vodka-juice mixes. Now that I am of legal age (excluding my probation), I would like to expand my tastes.

I have been on kind of a twisted kick lately, having posted four photos highlighting some traumatizing experiences. Despite the nature of the photos, there is an undeniable humorous aspect to each of them -- even if it is a "that guy is crazy" type humor. But this story is much more horrifying than the previous three combined, with none of the humor. (Hat Tip to Drudge)

The past few days I have posted pictures that seem to be incredibly painful for those involved. This picture likely contains something that will be just as painful for the subjects as the previous items, but not entirely in the same way. Take a look and see for yourself; if you don't catch what I am referring to right away, keep looking... you'll get it.