Yes. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mekong Delta) has seen the
whites of their eyes, and has commenced firing...It
has begun...This is not Dukakis, or Mondale, or
McGovern, or even the old Al Gore, this is the new
Lincoln for the coming *Civil* War...
Associated Press: Sen. John Kerry accused President
Bush on Thursday of relying on front groups to
challenge his record of valor in Vietnam, asserting,
"He wants them to do his dirty work."
Defending his record, the Democratic presidential
candidate said, "Thirty years ago, official Navy
reports documented my service in Vietnam and awarded
me the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple
Hearts."
"Thirty years ago, this was the plain truth. It still
is. And I still carry the shrapnel in my leg from a
wound in Vietnam."
In addition to Kerry's speech before an audience of
firefighters, his campaign released a new 30-second
campaign commercial that features a former Green Beret
saying the young Navy lieutenant saved his life under
fire...
In his speech, Kerry employed a wartime metaphor.
"More than 30 years ago I learned an important lesson.
When you're under attack the best thing to do is turn
your boat into the attack. That's what I intend to do
today."
Speaking of the organization airing the ads that
challenge his war record, Kerry said, "Of course, this
group isn't interested in the truth and they're not
telling the truth. ...
"But here's what you really need to know about them.
They're funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars
from a Republican contributor out of Texas. They're a
front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the
President won't denounce what they're up to tells you
everything you need to know. He wants them to do his
dirty work."
Cleanse the White House of the Chickenhaw Coup and Its
War-Profiteering Cronies, Show Up for Democracy in
2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/19/kerry.ap/index.html
Kerry blasts Bush over attack ads
Thursday, August 19, 2004 Posted: 10:41 AM EDT (1441
GMT)
Sen. John Kerry speaks Thursday to members of the
International Association of Fire Fighters in Boston.
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BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- Sen. John Kerry accused
President Bush on Thursday of relying on front groups
to challenge his record of valor in Vietnam,
asserting, "He wants them to do his dirty work."
Defending his record, the Democratic presidential
candidate said, "Thirty years ago, official Navy
reports documented my service in Vietnam and awarded
me the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple
Hearts."
"Thirty years ago, this was the plain truth. It still
is. And I still carry the shrapnel in my leg from a
wound in Vietnam."
Kerry received five medals for his service in Vietnam
a generation ago, but his record has come under
campaign challenge in television commercials aired by
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, funded by supporters of
the president.
Bush and the White House have refused to condemn the
ads, despite calls to do so -- from Sen. John McCain,
R-Arizona, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, as well
as from Democrats.
Senior Democrats, including some inside the
presidential campaign, have urged Kerry to respond
forcefully to the criticism, fearing that if left
unanswered, it could hamper his quest for the White
House.
In addition to Kerry's speech before an audience of
firefighters, his campaign released a new 30-second
campaign commercial that features a former Green Beret
saying the young Navy lieutenant saved his life under
fire.
Recalling when his boat came under attack more than 30
years ago, Jim Rassmann says, "It blew me off the
boat. All those Viet Cong were shooting at me. I
expected I'd be shot. When he pulled me out of the
river, he risked his life to save mine."
Aides said the commercial would air in Ohio, West
Virginia and Wisconsin, three battleground states. The
decision to advertise even in a limited fashion marked
a change in course for the campaign, which had hoped
to remain off the air for August to conserve cash for
the fall campaign.
In his speech, Kerry employed a wartime metaphor.
"More than 30 years ago I learned an important lesson.
When you're under attack the best thing to do is turn
your boat into the attack. That's what I intend to do
today."
Speaking of the organization airing the ads that
challenge his war record, Kerry said, "Of course, this
group isn't interested in the truth and they're not
telling the truth. ...
"But here's what you really need to know about them.
They're funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars
from a Republican contributor out of Texas. They're a
front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the
President won't denounce what they're up to tells you
everything you need to know. He wants them to do his
dirty work."
Bush spokesman Steve Schmidt said, "That charge
leveled by Senator Kerry is absolutely and completely
false."
"The Bush campaign has never and will never question
John Kerry's service in Vietnam. The president has
referred to John Kerry's service as noble service,"
the Bush spokesman said.
Kerry said, "Of course, the president keeps telling
people he would never question my service to our
country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded
attack group does just that. Well, if he wants to have
a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my
answer: 'Bring it on."'
Kerry's comments drew boisterous cheers from members
of the union that had endorsed him last year at a time
his candidacy was struggling.
Rassmann, too, played a pivotal role in Kerry's
campaign turnaround last winter. With the kickoff Iowa
caucuses days away, the former Green Beret contacted
the campaign and volunteered to appear with the
Massachusetts senator and talk about his action in
Vietnam.
Rassmann has since become the best known member of a
group of veterans that Kerry calls his "band of
brothers" -- a stress on military service designed to
erode the traditional Republican campaign advantage on
national security issues.
Kerry's response came as The Washington Post reported
that a Vietnam veteran who claims Kerry lied about
being under fire during a Mekong Delta engagement that
won Kerry a Bronze Star was under constant fire
himself during the same skirmish according to the
man's own medal citation.
The newly obtained records of Larry Thurlow show that
he, like Kerry, won a Bronze Star in the engagement
and that Thurlow's citation says he also was under
attack, the Post reported.
Thurlow, also like Kerry, commanded a Navy swift boat
during Vietnam. He swore in an affidavit last month
that Kerry was "not under fire" when he rescued
Rassmann from the Bay Hap River.
Thurlow's records, obtained by the Post under the
Freedom of Information Act, include references to
"enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" directed
at all five boats in the flotilla that day. In his
Bronze Star citation, Thurlow is praised for helping a
damaged swift boat "despite enemy bullets flying about
him."
Thurlow is a leading member of Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth, a public advocacy group of Vietnam veterans who
have aired a television advertisement attacking
Kerry's war record.
Thurlow, a registered Republican, said he was angry
with Kerry for anti-war activities after his return to
the United States, especially his claim that U.S.
troops committed war crimes with the knowledge of
their officers up the chain of command.
Thurlow told the Post that he got the award for
helping to rescue a boat that was mined. He said he
believed his own award would be fraudulent if it was
based on coming under enemy fire.
He speculated that Kerry could have been the source of
at least some of the language used in the citation.
Members of Kerry's crew have said Kerry is telling the
truth. Rassmann said he has vivid memories of enemies
firing at him from both banks.
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