I'd say that yes, Obama's campaign is currently in the midst of a 'swift boat' attack on Romeny based around his time at Bain Capital. The Swift Boat attacks on Kerry and the Bain attacks on Romeny have a number of things in common. Both take what was perceived to be one of the candidate's strengths and turn into a liability through constant bombardment. Both were a 'Death of 1000 Cuts', hitting on the same subject again and again from slightly different angles. Both featured a candidate who was apparently unwilling or unable to respond to the attacks promptly, clearly, and effectively.
The final impact, that worked on Kerry and appears to be close to working on Romney, is that they successfully defined the candidate in the public's mind, before he could present his own narrative. If Romney doesn't present a positive and straightforward position that sums up his time at Bain soon (probably before the Olympics get rolling) he's going to spend the rest of his quest for the Presidency being 'that rich capitalist @$$hole' which, in my opinion, not be good for his chances.
Good post
