Posted on 01/24/2007 5:26:55 PM PST by PJ-Comix
(Note: This is a special edition of the DUmmie FUnnies so the normal format will be dispensed with. Although much of this material has been covered in the September 15, 2006 DUmmie FUnnies EDITION, the events of today make it imperative to enter this again into the historical record.)
"May I be the first to say 'Mr. President'?"---Bob Shrum, Nov. 2, 2004.
It was close. Oh, so agonizingly close. The "infallible" exit polls showed him to be the landslide winner and Bob Shrum had already pronounced him to be "Mr. President." Democrats were celebrating and all that needed to be done was to wait for the actual election results to formally ratify the inevitable outcome. But it was not to be. Despite coming close to winning, Kerry's brief taste of victory turned to ashes in his mouth. Still he could have won. Many pundits, both liberal and conservative have gone over that election with a fine tooth comb and yet NONE have yet discovered the real reason which ultimately led to Kerry's tearful political demise announced today.
This is a story about a man still obscured by the mists of history even though the events took place only a little over two years ago. This is about the man who almost single-handedly kept us from having to call (like Bob Shrum unfortunately did) John Kerry "Mr. President."
My own personal experience with the events that led to Kerry's electoral downfall began early one morning in the summer of 2004. I turned on the Steve Kane show here in South Florida on WNN radio promptly at 6:00 A.M. as I often do. The show's opening featured the voice of John Edwards saying, "If you have any question of what John Kerry is made of, just spend three minutes with the men who served with him..." This was followed by the voices of the Swift Boat vets talking about John Kerry not being honest and lying. This now familiar clip was put together by Brian Craig, cohost of the Steve Kane Show. Here is some of the background about how that clip ultimately came to be the most effective CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL in political history as related by Nat Trayger who occasionally appears on WNN radio:
Before this election, I was channel surfing and I came upon a rebroadcast of a debate on C-Span. The debate had been originally aired in 1971 on the Dick Cavett Show. The opponents were two swift boat veterans, John Kerry and John O’Neill. The subject they debated, largely without interference from Mr. Cavett, was John Kerry’s public accusations concerning the alleged large number of war crimes committed by American soldiers. I watched and was fascinated by the obvious distaste and vitriol these men had for each other and I knew that there was political gold in them thar hills.
I sit in as a once a week guest on a radio show hosted by Steve Kane. The show broadcasts to Broward and Palm Beach County in Florida, the scene of electoral confusion and conflict during the 2000 election. On the show we discuss politics and social issues and we definitely lean conservative. I contacted the producer of the show, Brian Craig and he had also seen the debate and sensed what he had to do: Find John O’Neill.
...I informed Brian that John O’Neill was a lawyer in Texas and gave him the most up to date E mail address that I could find. Brian had also been tracking down John O’Neill and one of the first talk shows in the country to have John O’Neill and other swift boat veterans who opposed John Kerry was the Steve Kane Show. To our surprise they had many negative things to say not only about John Kerry’s anti war protests but his service also. These allegations became the focus of a national debate. Other local and national radio and television shows also began to interview the anti Kerry swift boat veterans.
...Senator John Edwards came to Fort Lauderdale and echoed the dominant theme of the Kerry campaign by stating “If you want to know about John Kerry, just spend three minutes with the men who served with him thirty years ago.” Brian Craig took Edwards statement as a challenge and played this statement followed by some of the negative comments that had been made on the Steve Kane Show by some of the swift boat veterans. Brian contacted the swift boat veterans who by now had organized and informed them of Edwards’ statement and his response to it. This suggestion was turned into the television ad that received so much national attention. Many analysts believe that the swift boat ads slowed Senator Kerry’s building of momentum.
And there you have the story about the man behind the most effective political commericial in history. Yes, the infamous commercial about the girl picking petals from a daisy leading to a nuclear countdown in the 1964 was also quite intense but it didn't change the outcome. It was merely overkill on the part of Lyndon Johnson and Bill Moyers since the Goldwater campaign was destined to lose no matter what that year. However, the Swift Boat commercial made all the difference in the 2004 campaign. Many have wondered why Kerry allowed weeks to go by without responding to the Swift Boat Vets For Truth commercial. The answer is simple. He didn't know what to say since the charges were true. Perhaps Kerry just hoped it would go away and be forgotten. That was not to be. The commercial that Brian Craig gave birth to was what ultimately led to Kerry's tears of today.
Ironically, I am not posting this because I am great buddies with Brian Craig. On the contrary, the few times I have called in to his show, I have been somewhat abused as an "agenda caller." I am sure if I called in tomorrow to tell him how I gave him credit for Kerry's downfall, I would again be accused of being an agenda or a chronic caller. But you know what? I don't care. I don't mind the abuse. Brian Craig can call me anything he wants but that's okay because at least he has kept all of us from having to suffer that arrogant mound of condescension known as John Kerry from ever becoming an occupant of the White House. And that MORE than balances out any names Brian might call me.
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Craig's radio ad wasn't really all that similar to the first Swift Vets TV ad, "Any Questions?" Craig told me he used clips from a former POW (most likely Mike Benge) who had been on Kane's show. Craig did have the same basic idea, of using the Edwards clip for Swift Vet ads, but then so did a lot of other people. Harry Kloor, who did the interviews for the first ad and co-produced it, picked up the phone right after seeing Edwards' "just three minutes" riff to tip off Bill Franke and Chris LaCivita, and the group agreed to go with it during the following morning's phone conference. None of them knew about the Kane broadcast, and Craig didn't call Jennifer Webster until later. She was noncommittal when she talked with him, because she didn't want to tip off what the Swifties were going to do.
It's understandable that Craig thinks he inspired the first SV ad, but that isn't actually the case.
Kerry Quit...........How FWENCH of Him !!!
"The Ketchup is dead" top 25.
I think he was redeployed
I heard the clip Brian Craig put together and it is eerily similar to what was ultimately broadcast in that commercial. My challenge to you is to locate that original Brian Craig clip and compare it to the commercial.
I don't have a stake in this one way or the other because, frankly, Brian Craig has been less than friendly with me on the radio. However, I do think the historical record has to be set straight.
What year did it become ok for a politician to criticize the war effort? Not WW2 for sure, Viet Nam?
Kerry was in Cambodia. On secret orders he received from President-elect Nixon on his fillings after seeing a CIA dentist.
A special edition of the DUFUs today to set the historical record straight on the real reason behind Kerry's tearful exit from presidential candidacy today......
Is he French?!!
I'd bet he is surrendering to Hiterly
Into the top 30 like a guy who had work to do after dinner!
It's a shame in a way, because it wipes out a rather neat "unsung hero" story...
Except that excerpt by Edwards really wasn't a national story. Many speeches by vice-presidential candidates go almost unnoticed in most of the nation. However, Edwards gave that speech HERE in Fort Lauderdale where it was heard by Brian Craig. Methinks that some folks are trying to grab full credit for that commercial. It's understandable since it turned out to be the most EFFECTIVE political commercial ever. However, the facts BEHIND that commercial need to come out for the sake of historical accuracy.
Eagles up for Brian Craig.
Fine, believe what you like...
Sorry but I heard the original radio version put together by Brian Craig. It is almost IDENTICAL (in audio format) to what we saw in the commercial. Have you heard Brian Craig's original clip? It is astonishing how similar it was to the TV commercial. Sorry, but there is no way that the final TV commercial had nothing to do with Brian Craig's clip. If you can find that Brian Craig radio clip, please upload it to the web so we can hear it to compare with the TV commercial. I, myself, was astonished by how similar they were until Brian Craig explained how he was the one who suggested the TV commercial be done based on his radio clip.
That speech was national news, since it was a major joint appearance by Kerry and Edwards on July 8, 2004, just two days after Kerry selected Edwards as his running mate. The film shoot for the first two SV ads was on July 10 - I was there - and they already knew what they wanted to do by then.
It's not belief. It's what I HEARD with my own ears. Again, it's not like I'm some buddy of Brian Craig trying to stick up for him. To the contrary, I didn't like the way he treated me the few times I called in to the show. However, I have to give the guy credit on this despite my personal feelings towards him. Why don't you contact WNN and LISTEN to the ORIGINAL clip?
It wasn't based on his radio clip, since he never gave it to the Swift Vets and they never heard it. He just told their PR rep about it and suggested they do likewise.
...."Kerry Quit...........How FWENCH of Him !!!"....
One I never get tired of laughing at:
Recent ad on e-bay:
For sale
One French issue army rifle
Never fired
Dropped only once
Make offer
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