Thank you!
Unfortunately, I am also sleepy.
TV Channel 37 Fri Aug 20 16:36:01 2004--FROM WOLF BLITZER..
reaction from the bush/cheney campaign on the decision by the kerry campaign to go ahead and file a formal complaint with the fec on these ads. Taylor griffin from the bush campaign telling cnn, john kerry knows that his allegation is frivolous and false. However, we welcome this focus on coordination with 527s. 527s, independent campaign contributing groups, the republican campaign insisting they have plenty of questions about the democratic party's use of these campaigns as well. Let's get some more information now on this whole controversy. Is president bush, for example, offering silent support to the people responsible for these controversial ads? I'm joined by two guests. Retired U.S. Air force general tony mcpeek, he's in oregon, he supports john kerry. And retired U.S. Army lieutenant joe repua, he's in minneapolis, he supports the president. Let me ask the general, first, what do you make of this whole uproar right now? Do you see the fingerprints of the white house and the bush/cheney campaign directly behind these controversial ads?
>> Yeah, I do, wolf. First of all, because there's a pattern of this kind of conduct. John mccain knows all about it. This is what happened to him in the south carolina prime primary. Max cleland knows all about it. This happened to him in the campaign. This is what "the new york times" calls the web of connections this set of intimate relationships exists. Read the wiring diagram for this organization in "the new york times". So it seems to me, yeah, the white house is doing the same thing they've done before and they found somebody to do their dirty work for them. I'm saddened by it.
>> Current, I want you to respond.
>> Well, i totally disagree with the general, respectfully, sir. Senator kerry snows that the charges are totally false. He knows that over 62 million has been spent attacking the president by 527 groups alleging that the president is poisoning pregnant women, that the president is doing -- injuring our workers, that the president is condoning torture. Yet he's totally silent on it. The president has constantly come forward and said he's against any 527 group and has asked senator kerry to stand with him and ask that all soft money, 527 groups, be
>> We're not going to get into the whole debate over the issue of the 527s because there are clearly controversies on both sides of the political aisle. Let's get to the thrust of the debate over vietnam right now and I'll go back to you, general mcpeak. I suspect that most of these vietnam veteran, and you're a vietnam veteran, are not so much angry the at john kerry what he did during the 4 1/2 month his served in vietnam but for what he did when he came back and accused these vets of committing war crimes, atrocities, if while they served in vietnam. That's a very serious allegation. It's the heart of this new ad that was released by the swift boat veterans for truth. Wolf i haven't seen the new one. It doesn't sound that way when the first one came up. What they said was that kerry did not perform well under combat conditions. And that whole line has been pretty well disproven. I mean, most of these guys, and again, this saddens me because these are good guys. These are navy veterans. They may have lost a step, and they're clearly being used here by more sinister political forces. But I'm very sad that they have made these allegations against kerry's performance which is clearly something we out to honer colonel, do you feel you're being used by these forces?
>> I'm not buying into sinister forces or grassy knolls at all. I'm not being used by anyone. I have said all along as a vietnam veteran, i was a combat rifle platoon leader with the 101st, john kerry sebed his country honorably. What bothers me is the horrible record john kerry has in 19 years in the office that he has held and his voting record against national defense, his voting report against pay raises for the military, his voting record against intelligence funding and that more than anything has convinced me that he's not the caliber of an individual I want to be my commander in chief.
>> I'm going to go back to general mcpeak in a second to say why he believes john kerry would be an excellent commander in chief. Colonel, should the president do what john mccain has done and denounce those ads?
>> I would love to see john kerry and the president both come before the camera together and ask all 527 groups to cease all activity. But you know, leak i said, $62 million, the michael moores, the terry mcauliffes, the hate groups, moveon.Org has been putting ads, terrible ads, out against the president, and that hasn't seemed to bother the kerry campaign at all.
>> Because john kerry isn't doing that though he has denounced some of those yas you don't think the president should disassociate himself directly from these ads?
>> I think the president already has. He said he's against all soft money. What more do you -- possibly can he do?
>> The president base based on what I know says john kerry's service was noble but he hasn't specifically denounced the ads. He has denounced all of these ads coming from these 527 group.
>> As they should be.
>> Tell the viewers why you believe john kerry would be an excellent commander in chief.
>> To correct the report, wolf, as you noted, john kerry has denounced a couple of yas that he said went too far in comparing the president unfavorbly. One case with hitler, as i recall. So it is not accurate, as joe has said there in minnesota, that to say that kerry has not done that. He's distanced himself, I think it would be valuable for the president to openly denounce these not so swift boat veterans. But they hasn't done that and clear will he can'T. The connects are too intimate there.
>> The connects will be investigated by the fec now that this complaint has been filed. We'll soon find out. Maybe not so soon necessarily what the result is. Thank you both, colonel, repya, colonel mcpeak, thank you both.