I don’t think nearly enough has been made of the despicable MoveOn.org character assassination attack ad against General David Petraeus and the Democratic leadership’s striking refusal to repudiate it. If you want to see the face of the modern Democratic Party, re-read that ad.

The full-page New York Times ad, reportedly purchased at a radical discount, directly accused Petraeus of “cooking the books for the White House,” called him “a military man constantly at war with the facts,” and said he “is likely to become “General Betray Us.”

Lest you think I’m exaggerating, consider the comments of MoveOn’s executive director, Eli Pariser. He said, “If you have a general who is being willfully misleading to the public and the Congress about the state of a military endeavor, that’s a big problem.”

Most Democratic leaders refused to condemn the ad. Some, like Hillary Clinton, independently echoed its sentiment. Clinton unmistakably called Petraeus a liar when she told him, “I think that the reports that you provide to us really require a willing suspension of disbelief.”

Gone for now are the “Sister Souljah moments,” where Democratic presidential candidates dress down the far left to appear more centrist to a credulous general electorate. If this ad proved nothing else, it showed that the Democratic Party is a wholly owned subsidiary of the George Soros empire.

With today’s Democratic Party, we are witnessing the full-blown resurrection of the far antiwar left of 1972, but with a sinister twist. This institution is more than the political vehicle for the antiwar movement and other leftist causes. It has become a highly refined and lavishly funded character assassination machine that relies more on ad hominem attacks than debating the merits of issues to win elections and advance its policy agenda.

Just think of the decent people whose characters it has attempted to savage: President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzalez, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Judge Samuel Alito and scores of others, including most high-profile Bush judicial nominees. I can just hear the derisive laughter now from those allergic to my suggestion that these people are indeed honorable public servants. Such derision demonstrates the effectiveness of the left’s relentless propaganda efforts.

Democratic war opponents, for example, could have argued the facts Petraeus presented. But with early reports of the surge’s success, they had to counter with something more than an alternative perspective.

While Democrats cynically accused Bush of making the well-respected Petreaus his point man to sell the success of the surge, they used that very tactic in reverse. They tried to undercut the case for the surge by tainting its messenger, Petreaus, through association with Bush — saying he was merely Bush’s mouthpiece, a charge Petreaus roundly refuted in his opening remarks to Congress.

You can be sure Democrats will ratchet up their attacks against Petraeus, and it will only be a matter of time before their endless efforts to discredit him seep into the public psyche. What will have begun as another abominable lie will be believed by increasing numbers of people who place their trust in the Democratic Party and its mainstream-media echo chamber.

And why not? Somewhat like O.J. Simpson, Democratic leaders have not been held accountable for their misdeeds and obviously figure they can continue their chicanery with impunity. No one is above their smear machine if his or her actions interfere with MoveOn’s, er, their agenda.

It would be bad enough if the damage from these personal attacks were limited to their individual victims. But think about the effect of their slanders against Petraeus on the reputation of our armed forces. To undermine the commander of our forces in wartime Iraq is unconscionable and disgraceful.

It’s undeniable that the Democratic leadership is in complete intellectual and tactical lockstep with George Soros’s band of anti-military, antiwar radicals.

The Democratic Party has moved so far to the left it’s amazing that it is in serious contention for the 2008 presidential race, notwithstanding the well-earned complaints against the GOP.

If Republicans were half as good with their communication machine as Democrats, Democrats would already be clawing back to the center right now and heavily handicapped going into 2008.

Think about the humorous, but revealing ad showing Michael Dukakis in a tank during the 1988 campaign, and that wasn’t even during time of war.

Can you envision Hillary Clinton commandeering such a vehicle? How about the entire ship of state?