How dare he use one of our Military ships for a campaign prop! How come he can and Dubya can't...silly me, I can answer my own question...DOUBLE STANDARDS!
The amazing thing is that during WW2, FDR accepted the nomination for his party on board a US Navy ship.
That is a photo of Kerry's campaign kick-off which was held at Patriot's point in Charleston, SC. The ship in the background is the USS Yorktown (CV-10) which is a museum piece. Patriot's Point is operated by a private foundation and raises money for the operation of the museum by charging admission. The Kerry Campaign had to pay for that photo-op, and I hope it was enough to keep The Point operating for a good long time.