As Commander in Chief, Bush himself may be able to release them in the interest of national security.
Bad move. If Bush were to do this, then the story becomes Bush abusing his position as Commander in Chief by releasing private information about a political opponent. It won't matter what's in Kerry's records - the mainstream media will focus all of their attention on Bush, giving Kerry a way out of the hole he's dug for himself.
I would prefer to see the President wait until the debates, and let Kerry bring up the subject of the Swift Boat vets, and how they "are in collusion with the Bush campaign" (and you know he will!). At that point, all GW Bush would need to do is calmly deny the allegation, and politely point out that Kerry can clear the whole matter up simply by signing the SF 180 and releasing his records. The President can then smile at him and ask "why haven't you done that, John"?
The President can then smile at him and ask "why haven't you done that, John"?
... as you promised you would in April 2004 when interviewed on Meet the Press...
If Kerry's dumb enough to bring up Swift Boats in a public debate, he deserves deportation to France.