Posted on 08/23/2004 12:28:53 PM PDT by KQQL
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - Under pressure from Democrats and Republican Sen. John McCain, President Bush on Monday called for ads attacking John Kerry's record in Vietnam to be stopped along with others run by independent groups, and said Kerry should be proud of his war service.
"That means that ad and every other ad," Bush said when asked if he wanted to bring a stop to commercials by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which accuse Sen. Kerry of lying about his war record in Vietnam.
Bush said Kerry "served admirably" in Vietnam, adding: "He ought to be proud of his record." But Bush stopped short of directly condemning the charge that Kerry lied about his actions.
Unlike previous statements by the White House, Bush this time referred specifically to the ad attacking Kerry's Vietnam service record, though he did not mention the Swift Boat group by name.
Bush did not specify what actions might be taken to stop the advertisements run by independent groups, except to renew his call on Kerry to join him in condemning all unregulated soft money ads.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Ok Kerry, you and your cronies slimed me time & time again and I took it like a sport and my poll numbers took a beating. Now that some of my followers are taking a pot shot at you and YOUR polls are taking a hit you suddenly starting to whine like a p#$$y. Just shutup and take it like a man you pretend to be.
Meanwhile I'll give a swifties a pass and you better keep your dogs in line 'cause after my convention you aint gonna know what's hit you.
We've been told for the last week he legally can't ask them to stop. What changed?
Well there's an idea that liberal philosophers came up with quite some time ago. Drug the public. That should keep us under control.
This is the exact same as the White House position has been from the start -- ban all 527 ads. I don't understand why this story is even news, let alone why some Freepers are getting upset about it. Don't let the MSM trick you into thinking Bush changed his position.
Bush NEVER said that the vets were not telling the TRUTH. He did not attack the swiftees at all. Even so, the fact that Kerry and Bush denounce the ads will not undermine their substance. Kerry is screwed because he made a process argument rather than a substantive argument. GWB has assimilated process by saying that all 527 ads are bad for the process. Kerry is now limited to confronting the substance of their allegations.
If he had vetoed CFR as he promised we wouldn't be in this mess
Like father like son
His father reneged on his promise of no new taxes and it bit him in the ass
The son reneges on his promise to uphold FREE SPEECH and signs the damn thing because of a believed political expediency and now it comes back to bite ALL OF US IN THE ASS
Sometimes I wonder why the hell bother voting for the GOP
LOL! That's about the size of it: Pres. Bush has a half-million unpaid campaign advisers, all blathering about what he needs to do, in their "humble" opinion.
"Now Kerry can say they should stop because both he and Bush say they are not telling the truth"
Bush never said anything like that. Didn't mention what was true or not true.
Oddly, O'Neill is for Edwards if memory serves. So I wonder if Edwards should ask O'Neill to stop - LOL.
No, he's not shooting himself in the foot. The Swift Vets stated numerous times that they're going to continue running their ads regardless of what the President says. The risk for Bush here is that the Kerry campaign will associate him (falsely) with the Swift Vets and make him look like a dirty campaigner. So it's a wise move to call for the end of all 527 ads, which makes him appear opposed to dirty campaigning (because 527's are running the nastiest campaign ads.) Meanwhile the Swift Vets will continue to run ads anyway and their book will sell in huge numbers all the way through October. The book alone is devastating to Kerry. This is the correct strategery from Bush. He's been misunderestimated on numerous occasions.
Agreed.
The smart play is to get above the fray... and in this case, the ante is one that Kerry is going to be unable to raise. Watch Kerry try to lawyer his way, claiming MoveOn was around long ago, etc.
Bush and the Swift Boat Vets BOTH have gotten inside Kerry's OODA loop. Kerry is clearly on the defensive now, and is going to have a hard time recovering from that.
I agree...he has just taken the wind out of Kerry's sails. Brilliant move. Bush basically just re-stated what he has been saying since this thing broke...that ALL of the ads from ALL of the 527s (of which there are many many more with leftist leanings) should be denounced. If Kerry continues to accuse Bush of being behind the Swift Boat Vet ads it will blow up in his face more than it already has.
You really believe that? I look at it differently. He knows Kerry isn't going to call for the other ads to stop, besides the FCC has already said they are legal under McCain/Feingold. They thought they put up a wall and the 527s drove a mack truck through them.
Will the Swifties see it that way or will they feel W has turned on them? If it's all part of the master plan then my hat is off to W. bigtime.
I thinking blaming the 527s is weak. Pres. Bush should never have signed campaign finance deform limiting political speech. Now he's calling for even more limits. The Swift Vets have every right to speak.
I suppose the White House sees this as the best tactical response to a sticky situation, but using the bully pulpit to denounce free speech is too much.
No, he is having his cake and eating it too.
Take a pill, dude. You're drooling. And making a fool out of yourself. You do not recognize awesome political maneuvering and poke playing when it's being played out in front of you.
I agree that he is shooting himself in the foot. Its stupid to come out and tell "that ad" to stop running. Its a total double standard. Where are the calls to stop all the hate-America MoveOn.org ads? Then again, sometimes it seems like Bush does not want to win.
We've been told for the last week he legally can't ask them to stop. What changed?>>>>
When Kerry asked MoveOn to stop an ad. According to ODonnel from MSNBC it is part of the perfect storm Kerry needed to take the "high" ground on this issue. If that is the case it sure is awfuly interesting that just when Kerry needed a commercial to condemn, and not just any commercial mind you a commercial that attacks both Bush's service record and the SwiftVets commercial, convenient wouldnt you say?
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