Dirty Debate Maneuvers: Attack your opponent's strengths, not his weaknesses

Carl Rove performed admirably in the Kerry v. Bush election. Sure, he happened to be playing for the wrong team, but you gotta admire his moves. Two in particular- the Swift Boat Veteran thing and the flip-flop legend.

Rove, as the main strategist for the Bush campaign at the time, saw that Kerry had several strengths over Bush. This was prominent because Bush had a sketchy National Guard record during the Vietnam War, while Kerry was first a decorated soldier then in the newspaper speaking out for peace.

So Rove both ran a campaign that questioned Kerry's war decorations and painted him "wishy-washy" or without conviction. In fact, the opposite was true about Kerry, but Rove knew what he was doing. And Kerry did not know how to defend himself against such an attack.

This maneuver also works on the tactical level, not just on the strategic. Either by goading or by misdirection, one can accuse the opponent of overreacting.