LORIE BYRD writes that this ad by “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” is “the most devastating political ad I have ever seen – bar none.”

Yeah, I’d say that’s right. And Kerry played right into this with all the stuff about Vietnam and medals.

UPDATE: More reflections from personal experience, here. And more thoughts here.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Michael Duff urges caution. Well, there’s plenty of time before the election to find out what’s going on. I suppose that the criticism of Kerry’s war record might turn out to be as bogus as the criticism of Bush’s National Guard service.

Meanwhile, here’s more on the subject from Collin Levey in the Seattle Times.

MORE: Skepticism about the ad here. And Polipundit thinks it’s too harsh to be effective — and he’s soliciting your comments.

STILL MORE: John McCain is condemning the ad.

On the other hand, Hugh Hewitt (whose permalinks are busted again — what’s up with that?) wants parity, and sees a double standard:

This story deserves as much coverage as Bush’s air guard service received.

The ad deserves as much coverage as the independent expenditure committee ads from the left receive.

The book should get as much attention as the flood of books from the left have received.

In fact, since Kerry made his Vietnam service the centerpiece of his acceptance speech –from “reporting for duty” through the close– this story in all its ramifications deserves far more attention than has been paid to the Bush air guard story, the other ads, and those other books.

As they say, developing. . . .