The increasingly shrinking _resident was a coward
during the Vietnam war, who let others fight a war he
supported while he hide here, and he is a coward now,
letting others do his political wet work for him while
he runs the other way, only addressing those who have
signed a loyalty oath (literally) and only answering
scripted questions (literally). But no context or
continuity is coming from the "US mainstream news
media." The "US mainstream news media" did not provide
the proper context for the viscious and deceitful
"Swift Boat Veterans" ruse, they did not compare it to
what the Bush cabaal's character assassination squad
did to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in South Carolina in
2000. The Kerry-Edwards campaign had to provide that
context. Nor have they made the fairly simple, direct
and irrefutable observation that there is no lack of
documentation on the battle for which JFK was
decorated or indeed for his whole tour of service
while there is a disturbing lack of documentation and
a disturbing gap in the record of the increasingly
unhinged and incredible shrinking _resident's
*service* in the Alabama National Guard. Indeed, we
hardly know anything except that he got some dental
work done on the taxpayer's dime. Numerous and serious
unresolved allegations concerning whether or not he
went AWOL or was deemed unfit continue to swirl around
in the vortex created by that lack of documentation
and the disturbing gap. The White House has claimed
that Bush's entire record was released, but it was
not...Lo and behold, there was no paper trail for the
months that are of the greatest concern...Documents
have been announced as "destroyed" have later surfaced
to provide...grist for more questions...And yet the
"US mainstream news media" does not think it strange
or disproportionate in its coverage of the sliming of
JFK..."Long Live Big Brother! Long Live Big Brother!"
Yes, it's the Media, Stupid.
David Nakamura, Washington Post: John Edwards demanded
Saturday that President Bush call for television ads
attacking John F. Kerry's military service in Vietnam
to be pulled because they are lies funded by Bush
allies.
"This is a moment of truth for George W. Bush," the North Carolina senator told a cheering crowd at a magnet school here, where his campaign stopped for a morning town hall meeting. "We're going to see what kind of man he is and what kind of leader he is. . . . We want to hear from the president of the United States. We don't want to hear rhetoric. We want to hear three words: 'Stop these ads!' "
Cleanse the White House of the Chicken Hawk Coup and Its War-Profiteering Cronies, Show Up for Democracy in 2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22430-2004Aug21?language=printer
washingtonpost.com
Edwards Assails Veterans Group Ad as Lies
By David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 22, 2004; Page A15
ROANOKE, Aug. 21 -- John Edwards demanded Saturday
that President Bush call for television ads attacking
John F. Kerry's military service in Vietnam to be
pulled because they are lies funded by Bush allies.
"This is a moment of truth for George W. Bush," the
North Carolina senator told a cheering crowd at a
magnet school here, where his campaign stopped for a
morning town hall meeting. "We're going to see what
kind of man he is and what kind of leader he is. . . .
We want to hear from the president of the United
States. We don't want to hear rhetoric. We want to
hear three words: 'Stop these ads!' "
Saturday night at a fundraiser in the Hamptons, Kerry
repeated those sentiments, saying that "they are
personally going after me." He declared that "the
president needs to stand up and stop that."
The Democrats' comments represented what the campaign
called a systematic effort to aggressively respond to
charges by a Republican-backed group of veterans
accusing the Massachusetts senator of inflating his
military record. The campaign also posted an online ad
comparing the attacks to ones leveled against Sen.
John McCain (Ariz.) in his bid for the 2000 GOP
nomination.
The video, "Old Tricks," will be e-mailed to 200,000
veterans activists and posted on veterans Web sites.
"George Bush is up to his old tricks," the video says,
showing Bush and McCain at a debate in February 2000.
McCain, sitting next to Bush, says that when "fringe
veterans groups" attacked him at a Bush campaign
function, Bush stood by and did not say a word. "I
don't know how you can understand this, George, but
that really hurts," McCain says in the video.
Kerry's critics are being challenged by a Chicago
Tribune editor who was on the Feb. 28, 1969, mission
for which Kerry received the Silver Star.
"There were three swift boats on the river that day in
Vietnam more than 35 years ago -- three officers and
15 crew members. Only two of those officers remain to
talk about what happened on February 28, 1969,"
William B. Rood wrote in a 1,700-word story that
appeared on the newspaper's Web site Saturday. "One is
John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate who
won a Silver Star for what happened on that date. I am
the other."
Rood refused requests for interviews, including from
his own newspaper. "But Kerry's critics, armed with
stories I know to be untrue, have charged that the
accounts of what happened were overblown." he wrote.
"The critics have taken pains to say they're not
trying to cast doubts on the merit of what others did,
but their version of events has splashed doubt on all
of us."
Rood said allegations that Kerry's accomplishments
were overblown are untrue and that Kerry devised an
attack strategy that was praised by their superiors.
The Tribune said Rood's account was supported by
military documents.
Rood wrote that Kerry recently contacted him and other
crew members, requesting that they go public with
their accounts of what happened. "I can't pretend
those calls had no effect on me, but that is not why I
am writing this," Rood said. "What matters most to me
is that this is hurting crewmen who are not public
figures and who deserved to be honored for what they
did. My intent is to tell the story here and to never
again talk publicly about it."
On Friday, Kerry accused Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
of collaborating with the Bush campaign and asked the
Federal Election Commission to force the group to
withdraw the ad.
Brian Jones, a Bush campaign spokesman, said, "The
president has made it repeatedly clear that he wants
to see an end to all" advertising from outside groups.
Edwards had planned to focus his remarks on issues
touching voters in this region, where thousands of
jobs have been lost in the textiles and manufacturing
industries. The partisan crowd, which included
Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, roared its approval at
Edwards's economic message and his direct challenge to
Bush. Later in Charleston, W.Va., Edwards repeated his
remarks to another enthusiastic audience.
In Roanoke, World War II veteran George Keller, 82,
chairman of the Alleghany County-Covington Democratic
Committee, said, "I'm tickled to death that they're
deciding to fight back." He added: "You can't fake
medals. [Bush] should denounce those ads."
© 2004 The Washington Post Company