[nycmusic]

This comment is mind-boggling:

"For three or four days, as he campaigned across the country, Kerry ripped into Cahill, furious that the mostly baseless attacks on his valor were driving his numbers down."

[eddie willers]

mostly baseless attacks

Based on this.

[jwpjr]

re: "furious that the mostly baseless attacks on his valor"

Don't you just love the way they throw in subjective information along with objective information? It's the ol' spin machine grinding out its drivel. The MSM was the only source of information for so long that they didn't even notice how irrelevant they were becoming!

[comebacknewt]

It isn't his fault. F'n was given faulty intelligence on the Swiftees by the Neo-Cons in his campaign. They deliberately misled him into not taking action on this issue.

Unfortunately for Kerry, he has compounded his problem by subsequently stating that "even if he knew then what he knows now, he still would have voted against attacking the SBVT sooner".

Senior Democrats fumed. "He has taken another principled, nuanced position" one strategist stated on conditions of anonymity, "but most voters are going to see it as another giant flip flop".

[rbg81]

When you gamble, you have to be prepared to lose. Kerry thought the sheeple would just gaze awestruck at his medals without noticing how he later betrayed his "band of brothers". The Clintons no doubt realized this would cause him to ultimately lose--which is why THEY allowed him to be nominated! He has no one to blame but himself.

[spyone]

And yet he did nothing but stew. No leadership there. As president, the state dept. and UN ambassaor will tell him what to do and he will stew about it.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

But even as the campaign was bulking up, Kerry lost another valuable ally, at least for a little while, when Bill Clinton was rushed to the hospital for heart surgery. Clinton had cleared his schedule in October to spend the month barnstorming the country for Kerry as well as continuing his book tour.

Interesting timing.

[fat city]

"...Kerry ripped into Cahill, 'No Ris de Veau en Meurette à la Bourguignonne sur Canapé de Pomme de Terre Veal sweetbreads sauté, served with a red wine mushroom sauce on a potato cake for you!"

[snooker]

Isn't it funny that all Kerry has to do is sign the little ole 180 and all the questions go away... or do they just begin? Seems to me that with something as simple as just releasing the records, there is definitely a problem.

Too bad we don't have anything that passes for news media left. I guess the bloggers will have to take over.

[Shermy]

But no, campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill and other staffers argued, the Swift Boat ads would blow over.

Fiction. They went all out against the Swifties. Called for it's censorship. Called on Bush to stop it. INvoked McCain. Called out the MSM to write article after credulous article to assert the Swifties were liars. Successfully got the media to ignore "Unfit for Command" except for the valor medals parts - the parts, and medals, most murky.

They hit back over and over, calling in every chit. They did what they could to prevent the one thing they knew must not happen - a reporter asking a question to John Kerry about specific Swift vet claims.

Even today the framing of the debate as if Kerry didn't hit back and it's the fault of his press people who did all they could is part of the deflection strategy.

Until Kerry himself answers questions the weight of the Swift Vets will not be released.

[vbmoneyspender]

Kerrey says he wants the candidate to take pride in his antiwar protests. "It took courage to do what he did in '71," says the former senator. "John Kerry was trying to end a war so Karl Rove didn't have to go."

I agree with Kerrey/Kerry, they should talk more about Vietnam because it has proven quite a fruitful campaign topic for Vietnam John.

[Kenny500c]

This reader wants to know which allegations the Kerry camp think are not baseless?

Kerry can't win because he has three opponents, W and Billary.

[UltraKonservativen]

...For three or four days, as....

Hey, that's longer than seven minutes, alert Michael Moore.

[GROOVY]

Kerry lost another valuable ally, at least for a little while, when Bill Clinton

Actually that might be the only good thing to happen to Kerry, Clinton is a big curse, he ruins everything he touches.

[AmericaUnited]

Folks, All is well. Mr Delusional and his sycophants stand no chance of waking up in time to avoid total destruction.

All though the generally accepted wisdom is "When your opponent is determined to commit suicide, get out of the way.", I still think we should help him slog down as much KoolAid as poosible.

[arasina]

Your source link is MSNBC, which is airing a pro-Kerry, anti-Nixon, anti-American "documentary-like" special program right now, spinning F'n's testimony before the Senate in 1971. (Don't watch it!) They SUCK.

[JusticeTalion]

Sasso has a rare quality among Democrats, according to those who worked with him in '88. "Nobody has sharper elbows than John Sasso," says Michael Goldman, a former Boston political consultant. "He can hit as hard as the Republican hit machine."

Kaptain Ketchup has no clue. This isn't "The American President" where Sydney Allen Wade saves your ass (remember Shepard lost the gun bill battle).

You have to defeat the most powerful man in the world and a record of 30 years ago ain't going to do it.

God bless our troops wherever they may be.

[uncbob]

, Kerry ripped into Cahill, furious that the mostly baseless attacks on his valor were driving his numbers down.

Kerry can't defend himself to the press ?

[RainDog]

This pro-Kerry article bemoans the August doldrums of the Kerry campaign.

The bias to be noted is the truncation of "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" to "Swift Boat" or "Swifties" in the article. "Veterans for Truth" never makes the article.

I do not recall similar truncations going the other way: M&M for Michael Moore; Movies for MoveOn.org; or F'n911 for Fahrenheit 911.

This isn't an op-ed piece. It is presented as hard news analysis. So why no room in print for the articulation of "Veterans for Truth" . . .?