`Duty' latest salvo in election-fueled book/film blitz

WASHINGTON - Books like ``Unfit for Command'' may soar to the top of the bestseller lists and generate buzz on radio and TV talk shows this political season - but they are unlikely to sway large numbers of undecided voters.

The reason is simple: Books with a sharp political slant tend to preach to the choir - hard-core partisan audiences - rather than win converts.

``They reinforce those who have already converted,'' said professor Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Bookshelves and movie theaters have been awash in political fare as the 2004 presidential race intensifies - giving the public plenty of ammunition and providing the cable TV and radio talk shows with a seemingly endless supply of hot-button chatter.

Michael Moore's ``Fahrenheit 9/11,'' a box-office blockbuster this year, is a searing takedown of President Bush [related, bio] - sparking speculation that it could undercut Bush's re-election prospects.

But an Annenberg survey in July found the movie reinforced rather than changed the views of its audience.

Even viewers who come to a book or movie with an opposing political point of view tend to have their partisanship reinforced. They react by developing counterarguments, the Annenberg study found.

A passage from, Unfit for Command.

***On March 15, 2004, Admiral Hoffmann's telephone rang again. Once again, the caller was John Kerry. Kerry had clinched the Democratic nomination, and he
knew that Hoffmann was organizing Swiftees to bring out the truth about him, his exaggerated military record, and his antiwar lies that had slandered his fellow
veterans. Kerry made the admiral an offer: If you will back off and drop your efforts, I will ensure that my biography, Tour of Duty, which I know is unfair to you,
will be changed to make it accurate in a revised edition. Here is my secretary's number - you can get me anytime.

The offer from the Democratic presidential candidate was an attempt to flatter Hoffmann, a warrior whose coin is not power or wealth, but honnor--an honor deeply
impugned by Kerry's book. Hoffman, after all, is a wounded survivor of the amphibious assault at Wonson, Korea, where his minesweeper still lies below the frigid
waters of Wonson Harbor. Kerry knew that winning Hoffmann over to his side would thwart the Swiftees' efforts to discredit him. Hoffmann told Kerry that he and
the vast majority of his shipmates could never forgive him for his defamation of our Navy and other U.S. Armed Forces by his slanderous and undocumented
accusations of unspeakable atrocities in Vietnam before the U.S. COngress in 1971, his leadership in the VVAW, and his association with the traitorous Jane Fonda
and others of her ilk. Surprisingly, Kerry responded by simply saying that he "was expressing his conviction."

If Admiral Hoffmann were truly a butcher whose conduct "sickens" John Kerry to this day, an impression one could easily gain from reading Tour of Duty, then why
did Kerry offer to change inaccuracies he knew were in Tour of Duty in exchange for Admiral Hoffmann and the Swiftees ceasing their activities? In emails on May
3, 2003, and on May 7, 2004,trying to dissuade Swiftees from joining Admiral Hoffmann, Wade Sanders referred to the group as "bitter drunks," something the
sailors involved deeply resented. Moreover, Sanders referred to Joe Ponder, a seriously disabled Swiftee who cried when talking about Kerry's charges, as "a
whining crybaby."*** - pages 68-69

Books like ``Unfit for Command'' may soar to the top of the bestseller lists and generate buzz on radio and TV talk shows this political season - but they are unlikely to sway large numbers of undecided voters.

Gee! Really? Honest, Mr. "Unbiased Objective Professional Journalist?"

Read this and weep:

Swift Vet Ad Makes Strong Inroads Among Independents: Study

If you go to the website for the original study:
http://readmylipz.com/pdf/SwiftBoatStudy.pdf

you see on pages 16-17 how effective the ad is in turning-around Democrats who FAVOR Kerry. It cut the number leaning toward Kerry by over 50%

Cincy, obviously the above is not directed at you. Honest to God, these media whores revolt me.

Kindly note that within the above-referenced link I included a link to Adobe's online PDF viewer- for those who wish to see the original source material.

``They reinforce those who have already converted,'' said professor Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Wrong, professor. We couldn't possibly be more "reinforced" than we already are. What Swiftboat Vets have done is energized us. We'll be going after the networks to make sure this gets aired to all those undecideds who get their news and commentary from TV. We'll be going after Kerry to release his service record or explain why he won't. The word is energize, Kathleen.

I can get Jacoby on FR ;-) (thanks!)

Actually, when I got the Globe, though it wasn't as bad as it's become, it was occasionally useful. I usually didn't bother to read the editorials, with two exceptions: if I was feeling especially sluggish in the morning, a Globe editorial would really get the juices flowing; and if I genuinely hadn't made up my mind on an issue, I'd just read a Globe editorial, which would utterly convince me of the opposite side!

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