Posted on 12/07/2007 8:39:54 AM PST by Interesting Times
FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- Last week former President Bill Clinton, John Kerry and various members of the media once again used "Swift boating" as a shorthand reference for misrepresenting a candidate's record. In "To Set the Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry," authors Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler counter that assertion in a heavily researched 400 page work that provides the first historical assessment of the 2004 presidential campaign.
"To Set the Record Straight" is the definitive account of the ad hoc political movement that dominated the 2004 presidential campaign. Based on hundreds of in-depth interviews with key participants and two years of meticulous research, the book tells the inside story of how a group of Vietnam vets and their supporters delivered the explosive truth about John Kerry's military service and pro-Hanoi activism to the American public, despite relentless efforts by old media gatekeepers to silence and discredit them.
Swett said, "John Kerry lost all the key debates in 2004 to the anti-Kerry veterans. Since then, he has tried to paper over his failure with sloganeering and empty promises of new evidence." He added, "The 2004 campaign was a watershed in American political history, marking the first time that online forums and blogs were able to have a real impact on the national conversation. These new media outlets made it impossible for the liberal press to hide or dismiss what the veterans had to say."
The foreword for the book was written by John E. O'Neill, the lead spokesman for the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth in 2004. One chapter that underscores the impact of the new media on the campaign has been made available online at "ToSetTheRecordStraight.com". "Rather's Ruin and the Rise of the Pajamahadeen" tells how ordinary citizens with computers exposed the phony documents "60 Minutes" used to attack George Bush's National Guard service, effectively ending Dan Rather's career at CBS News.
"To Set the Record Straight" also contains:
o Conclusive evidence that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth acted independently, and were not a creation of the Bush campaign as their opponents repeatedly claimed.
o Detailed analysis of the efforts by the old media to blunt the impact of the anti-Kerry veterans by distorting and misrepresenting their charges
o Previously unpublished information on the "war crimes" propaganda effort that Kerry led during the Vietnam War, including material showing how the antiwar movement worked with the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong.
o New eyewitness perspectives on Kerry's "No Man Left Behind" engagement from a Forward Air Control pilot and the mission's Special Forces commander.
o The powerful story of a former member of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War who testified that Kerry personally pressured him to tell lies about military atrocities and war crimes at the group's 1971 "Winter Soldier" conference.
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Cute potlatch!
I*ll have to go grab one of recent subtle graphics to post now!
Too late - my sharks got him, lol.
Yes, what a great Christmas gift it will be.
On an earlier thread the article was saying the book does a lot of describing how the “Swift Boating” plan worked, how it used the new media, and how these methods can BE USED IN THE FUTURE to bring out the truth about things and candidates. Doesn’t seem moot at all, and its not all about Kerry. (Although I’m sure he wished it was “all about him”.)
 NIXON MADE ME DO IT! |
Lol, either the server or my computer is being slow.
Great graphics.
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Thanks potlatch-
I think I’ll work up a special variation of that for Hillary
[I think I’ll work up a special variation of that for Hillary]
Make up an ‘underwater area’ and attach her to the anchor!!
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phantom
Congrats Scott!
I’ve added it to my reading list! :-)
Thanks - please let us know what you think.
KUDOS! ...Yes indeed...
...and let’s all ALSO pause for a monment of thanks to John E. O’Neill and his friends for helping to keep a traitor out of the White House.
Borking = Telling lies about a Republican.
Thanks freema.
Yes, he would have and thank you, Ma!
Great post — and I agree 110%!
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