Posted on 08/19/2004 7:11:52 AM PDT by YankeeinOkieville
BOSTON - Fighting back, John Kerry called on the White House Thursday to condemn criticism of his Vietnam War record and released a television commercial featuring a veteran who says the Democratic presidential candidate "risked his life to save mine."
"All those Viet Cong were shooting at me. I expected to be shot. When he pulled me out of the river, he risked his life to save mine,' Jim Rassmann says in the 30-second commercial.
Kerry was wounded in Vietnam, and received five medals. But his service has recently come under question in commercials paid for by supporters of President Bush.
Thurlow, also like Kerry, commanded a Navy swift boat during the Vietnam War. He swore in an affidavit last month that Kerry was "not under fire" when he rescued Rassmann from the Bay Hap River.
Thurlow's records, obtained by the Post under the Freedom of Information Act, include references to "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" directed at all five boats in the flotilla that day. In his Bronze Star citation, Thurlow is praised for helping a damaged swift boat "despite enemy bullets flying about him."
Thurlow told the Post that he got the award for helping to rescue the boat that was mined. He said he believed his own award would be fraudulent if it was based on coming under enemy fire.
He speculated that Kerry could have been the source of at least some of the language used in the citation.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.http: ...
Went to the citation rather than the daily logs. Very convenient.
Kerry's been waiting for this but it's going to be a case of "Be careful what you wish for".
Sure, Johnny. Just as soon as you denounce Soros, Michael Moore, Whoopi, et al, ad nauseum, who've called Bush "Hitler", a killer, a liar, etc., ad nauseum.
Why should Bush denounce truth tellers when Kerry won't denounce the lying scum that now infest the vanguard of the Democratic party?
Went to the citation rather than the daily logs. Very convenient.
Excellent point. Must keep that in mind.
But this is no reason to gloss over the whole story. The fact is that Kerry has boastfully inflated his own accomplishments while denigrating honest and brave men who did far more than Kerry himself. The charges that Kerry made when he returned from Vietnam were very serious and by implication these charges were aimed directly at the Swift Boat Vets. These vets now have a right to express their views.
For Kerry to call on Bush to denounce these veterans while Kerry and the Dems have promoted MoveOn.org and Michael Moore is a farcical hypocrisy.
I'm still of the mindset that we're better off focusing on Kerry's awful Senate record, etc. This Swifite thing has always had the potential to backfire. It is nearly impossible to unequivocally prove that Kerry lied or wasn't really a hero, and all it does is bring attention to his one perceived strength - Vietnam. Kerry can be trounced by simply calling attention to his lousy record, such as missing all those intelligence meetings. I don't like where this is going - the press can easily make Kerry look good on this and the Swifties bad.
Fighting back,
Oh, it's happy happy joy joy for the Kerry shills over at the AP. Their boy is "fighting back"....
Kerry has called the SBV, a "front" group for PresBush. SBV have spent $200K on ads. OTOH. George Soro's is funding leftwing 527 groups like MoveON to the tune of some $15 million. Overall spending by Kerry backed 527`s have spent ten times that amount in attack ads against PresBush. I believe John Kerry just hired the internet director of one of these leftwing anti-Bush attack groups to work in his campaign. Only one side of the story is getting out. The side the liberal MSM and the Kerry campaign wants out. The Bush campaign needs to start taking this more seriously. The best defense is a good offense. Allowing Kerry to have his say on this issue without the President speaking to the issue himself gives undecided voters the wrong impression.
Was Kerry in Cambodia before he was in Nam, or versa visa, lol.
Yes. I hope Bush does not give in to this.
Your links aren't working. Please fix.
I mean, here we are slamming Kerry for embelleshing in order to get a Bronze Star, meaning he knew/had input into writing at least parts of the citation, but Thurlow doesn't?
Pretty odd, isn't it? How does Thurlow not know himself what it took the Post mere days to secure via an FOI act request?
Definitely disappointing that this wasn't checked out or vetted prior to the Swifties taking on Kerry. Any chinks in the "honesty armor" of these Vets severely undermines the believability of their claims in the eyes of the general public.
In my best Mr Burns voice: "Excellent"
Well, that settles it for me. There is no way that anyone can possibly vote for Thurlow. I certainly won't. </sarcasm>
"Kerry called on the White House Thursday to condemn criticism of his Vietnam War record"
Gee, remember when Kerry condemned Michael Moore's lies about Bush? NOT!
If the mainstream media ever decides to pick this story up, it will have a pro-Kerry or at least anti-Bush spin, and this may be it. All 'talking head' mention of the Swifties story will be based on the universally accepted premise that the Swifties are lying, the intimidating "EVERYBODY knows that!" approach. Then Bush will be criticized for sleazy politics for not standing shoulder to shoulder with Kerry in condemning it. It's the Big Lie that, if repeated often and sincerely enough, could become reality. After the hoaxes that were perpetrated in defense of Clinton, it will be a walk in the park.
LOL.
What a bogus claim in this article! NOWHERE does it say the political pursuasion of the Swifties...as a matter-of-fact quite a few of them claim to be Democrats.
I see this ad as payback from a group who have stewed over the claims made by Kerry when he returned from 'Nam. Had he not been in a position to possibly become the President...this ad would never have surfaced.
sorry... try this
Hope that helps.
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