McCain condemns anti-Kerry ads
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| Thu, 08-05-2004 - 12:00pm |
McCain condemns anti-Kerry ads, calls on White House to follow suit
-RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer
Thursday, August 5, 2004
(08-05) 07:20 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
Republican Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, called an ad criticizing John Kerry's military service "dishonest and dishonorable" and urged the White House on Thursday to condemn it as well.
"It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me," McCain said in an interview with The Associated Press, referring to his bitter Republican primary fight with President Bush.
The 60-second ad features Vietnam veterans who accuse the Democratic presidential nominee of lying about his decorated Vietnam War record and betraying his fellow veterans by later opposing the conflict.
"When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry," one of the veterans, Larry Thurlow, says in the ad.
The ad, scheduled to air in a few markets in Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin, was produced by Stevens, Reed, Curcio and Potham, the same team that produced McCain's ads in 2000.
"I wish they hadn't done it," McCain said of his former advisers. "I don't know if they knew all the facts."
Asked if the White House knew about the ad or helped find financing for it, McCain said, "I hope not, but I don't know. But I think the Bush campaign should specifically condemn the ad."
Later, McCain said the Bush campaign has denied any involvement and added, "I can't believe the president would pull such a cheap stunt."
The White House did not immediately address McCain's call that they repudiate the spot.
Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for the Bush-Cheney campaign, said Kerry's record and statements on the war on terrorism -- not his service in Vietnam -- are fair game. "The Bush campaign never has and will never question John Kerry's service in Vietnam," he said.
In 2000, Bush's supporters sponsored a rumor campaign against McCain in the South Carolina primary, helping Bush win the primary and the nomination. McCain's supporters have never forgiven the Bush team.
McCain said that's all in the past to him, but he's speaking out against the anti-Kerry ad because he believes it's bad for the political system. "It reopens all the old wounds of the Vietnam War, which I spent the last 35 years trying to heal," he said.
"I deplore this kind of politics. I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable. As it is, none of these individuals served on the boat (Kerry) commanded. Many of his crew have testified to his courage under fire. I think John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam. I think George Bush served honorably in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War."
McCain himself spent more than five years in a Vietnam prisoner of war camp. A bona fide war hero, McCain, like Kerry, used his war record as the foundation of his presidential campaign.
The Kerry campaign has denounced the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, saying none of the men in the ad served on the boat that Kerry commanded. The leader of the group, retired Adm. Roy Hoffmann, said none of the 13 veterans in the commercial served on Kerry's boat but rather were in other swiftboats within 50 yards of Kerry's.
Jim Rassmann, an Army veteran who was saved by Kerry, said there were only six crewmates who served with Kerry on his boat. Five support his candidacy and one is deceased.
Edited 8/5/2004 12:03 pm ET ET by happy2beamom2001

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You see this just ins't true... you suffer from propaganda which has been repeated so often it's become truth for you... inarticulate individuals do not rise to the status Bush has... nor do fools.
Here's a website that does a biography of Bush & Kerry side by side.
www.JFKorGWB.COM
I dont know....looks like some people in the Globe either jumped the gun, or got their facts wrong, or the report I heard on the radio was wrong......
That's a good philosophy. Too bad Bush Sr. didn't hold that attitude in regards to his own son. If he had we might not be having this conversation today. DARN!
:oD
Just a snippet:
"LEGAL TROUBLE
Two negligent collisions, July & Aug 1962 at Houston TX. Fined.
Two speeding tickets, July & Aug 1964 at Houston TX. Fined.
Arrested for Disorderly Conduct, December 1966 at New Haven CT. Charges were dropped.
Arrested for Disorderly Conduct in New Jersey, in 1967. Cautioned and set free.
Conviction for drunk driving in Maine, pled guilty, was fined and suspended from driving.
Bush admitted to these in his military records. "
Enough to make a high profile father simply swell up with pride!
Edited 8/9/2004 12:27 pm ET ET by suemox
Speaking for myself, the only "propaganda" that has been instumental in my own conclusions about Bush are Bush's own words and deportment along with a careful scrutiny of those in his inner circle.
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Maybe people who think that way are being lulled onto a false sense of security. Remember, less than a year ago many thought that Americans treated their war prisonners humanely as well. This is why in America and other free democracies the right to question the government is the most important right people have and it should be valued and protected.
The exstance of this cabal of powerful men that surround the president and their roles in hoisting him into office can point to another conclusion. It's also highly likely that Bush is nothing more than a puppet. Others, such as Cheney and company are really pulling the strings. The reason that Bush stands behind his people so loyally is that if it were not for them, he wouldn't be where he is today becuase THEY are the ones making the major decisions and sliding them under Bush's nose for his signiature and writing the public statements for him to parrot back in public. If key figures in his administration left, he would be lost. The strings holding him up would be cut. Perhaps Bush was chosen because (other than being the son of a past president) he had a certain charisma as the "everyman" (though with his privileged background it's hard to figure how anyone could fall for that). Most of his right hand men could not have had the same public impact and perhaps they had no interest, preferring instead to work behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.
I've worked in enough corporations to know that people with connections OFTEN get put into powerful positions that are way over their heads (sometimes with a "number 2" running the show). Why can't the US presidency be any different?
My conclusions have been independantly arrived at. This has nothing to do with "propaganda". And speaking of propaganda, there's enough of that to go around on both sides.
Edited 8/9/2004 12:07 pm ET ET by suemox
I had been looking for something like this for some time. I remember being told this by someone but could never find anything to back that up.
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He joined Delta Kappa Epsilon, a fraternity with a party reputation, and eventually became their president.
He was involved in fraternity hazing, including branding new frats with a hot metal clothes hanger. Bush was quoted in the New York Times in 1967, saying the branding "resembled a cigarette burn," >>
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It could very well be that Bush isn't stupid but monumentally lazy (albeit with an immense ego), preferring instead to have others pull the strings and do the thinking for him. This is probably worse than if he was merely an intellectual lightweight.
Kerry is for the higher income people paying more, then why on his Massachusetts State Income Tax return did he not check off the box stating that he was willing to pay the highest level of income tax????????
It seems like the everybody else but me mentality.
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