Posted on 09/06/2004 1:19:45 PM PDT by knak
Just when you thought the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth couldn't come up with anything nastier in their bid to smear Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, along comes their latest commercial.
No longer content to suggest Kerry didn't earn his Purple Hearts while serving in Vietnam, the Swifties are now saying that not only wasn't Kerry in Vietnam during periods when he claims he was, he was actually hanging out with George W. Bush during the future president's stint with the National Guard in Alabama.
"And we know what that means," said John O'Neill, spokesperson for the Swift Boat Veterans. "That means we have no idea where Kerry was at all."
The Swifties are looking specifically at the period between the spring of 1972, when Bush's whereabouts as a member of the National Guard were unknown, and February, 1973, when John Kerry was discharged.
"None of Kerry's military records contain any details of what he was doing with George W. Bush at this time," says the voice-over in the latest commercial spot. "And because President Bush's records are completely inconclusive with regard to his service with the National Guard, that leaves John Kerry with a lot of explaining to do."
Asks O'Neill, "Was Kerry out carousing with a young George W. Bush when the future president was supposed to be showing up for his physical but didn't? Was Kerry relaxing at the beach with George W. Bush when the future president was supposed to be showing up for regular Guard duty? Was Kerry hanging out in some bar with George Bush when the future president was supposed to be on active flight duty status? I don't know. The American people don't know. And the President can't remember. Maybe it's time John Kerry came clean."
Kerry, predictably, has reacted angrily, and forcefully, to the latest attacks on his integrity. Yesterday, he issued the following statement: "Huh?"
His vice-presidential running mate, John Edwards, was even more emphatic: "Say what?"
Republican senator John McCain, a veteran and former prisoner-of-war in Vietnam, has called on President Bush, whose re-election campaign he is supporting, to denounce these most recent attack ads from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
"This is an absolutely disgusting accusation," McCain said. "To allege that a decorated war veteran such as Mr. Kerry was hanging out with President Bush during his AWOL period is gutter politics at its worst."
But President Bush has refused to condemn the ads outright, instead opting to criticize third-party advertising in general. "There have been lots of ads out there that were critical of me, too," he said.
The White House is understandably reluctant to be too openly critical of the Swift Boat ads, given that they have been financed by folks who have contributed generously to the Republican party.
Said White House press secretary Scott McClennan: "Mr. Kerry seems to be Mr. Oh-So-Sensitive."
The Swift Boat ads have the Kerry team on the defensive, and scrambling to provide witnesses who can discount stories that the Democratic presidential hopeful was hanging out with George W. Bush during his military service back in the early 1970s.
"We thought," said one Kerry strategist, "if we could find just one person who served alongside George Bush, then that person could attest to the fact that John Kerry was not there with him, but so far we've been unable to find anybody, so we're like, totally screwed."
The latest ads, despite accusations that they are without any factual basis, appear to be doing what they're intended to do. Kerry's popularity numbers are dropping while the Republican party's numbers are up.
Said one veteran, "I think people see these ads and think, `Do we want to vote for a guy who was loafing about doing nothing with George W. Bush back during the Vietnam years?' Well, we don't. That's why we're supporting the president."
Too bad, they don't get to vote.
Yes, but at least I can glance at a pile of spilled toothpicks and tell you exactly the number, minus of course those left in the box :)
Bush wasn't AWOL, he was on a secret mission in Cambodia.
You just encapsulated the Democrat and Media response.
The are desperate.
Well gee thanks John. So Kerry wasn't with Bush during his AWOL period. Normally you would think a republican would say such a thing and the reporter is making it up. But we are dealing with the bitter Manchurian RINO here. Someone needs to flush this John along with the other two.
He is saving that for his next article.
"Was Kerry hanging out in some bar with George Bush..."
He would have, but George couldn't stand it any more when Kerry kept changing his mind between a beer and a white whine spritzer ...
Sounds like satire and the link doesn't work.
God help the Toronto Star if this is his day job.
I purchased the video, "THE HANOI HILTON" at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago. It was on sale for $5.99. I recall seeing the movie on television many years ago. I had a chance to watch the movie yesterday and now the movie, more than ever is relevant to the anti-war activities of John Kerry during the Vietnam War. Especially how the POW's were tortured many times due to the actions of John Kerry, Jane Fonda and their friends in the media.
If you have an opportunity to view it I recommend highly that you see this movie. It is a glimpse of what the POW's went through while held prisoner by the Communist North Vietnamese.
The video is available from Amazon and other online video stores.
From website: "Shot in the Dark" http://www.shotinthedark.info/
"In 1987, Lionel Chetwynd's excellent Hanoi Hilton received widely-mixed reviews (many of them politically-motivated). Worse, its distributor essentially sat on the movie, under pressure from Hollywood leftists, for its treatment of Jane Fonda. The movie depicted life at North Vietnam's Hoa Lo prison accurately - but it changed the last names of the prisoners, and of their visitors, including Jane Fonda. An actress who represents Fonda ("Paula") does everything Fonda is said to have done while in the Hilton. That was one of several stories that Hollywood didn't want told (that and, of course, the moral of the story; the men survived because of their military training and warrior ethic). "Hanoi Hilton" was buried, received a tiny theatrical release, and is hard to find on video today. (Do it if you can - it's an excellent movie)."
Original idea on how to remind the world tht "Bush didnt release all his records", and also how :Bush was AWOL"...
I think it is a see through ad in bashing Bush and makes the genuine claim of the lackof records of KERRY'S whereabouts during that period, which not one person in the media seems to be covering, just dismissed away with a wave of the hand.
When are we going to boot the swifties of the record? This allegation surpasses even the most addled minds ability to fall far.
Disgusted...
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