Media finally investigating Bush Swift Boat smear of Kerry

Some Veterans Still Bitter at Talk of Crimes by Kerry
Some Veterans Still Bitter at Talk of Crimes
Senator's Activism Made A Lasting Impression
By Josh White and Brian Faler
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, August 21, 2004; Page A01

William Ferris was confined to a bed in a military hospital, his severed sciatic nerve reminding him of the attack on his Navy Swift boat in a Vietnamese river. A shot from a recoilless rifle had pierced the boat's pilothouse and then Ferris's body, leaving him in constant agony.

But it was what appeared on Ferris's television that really pained him. John F. Kerry, a decorated fellow Swift boat driver, was testifying before Congress about atrocities in Vietnam, throwing his medals away, speaking at antiwar rallies. Ferris, who was trying to rehabilitate himself back to active duty, felt betrayed.

"I was livid," Ferris, 57, of Long Island, N.Y., said yesterday, recalling how his dislike for the presidential candidate began in the early 1970s. "I said to myself at the time, this is someone who is using his experience for his own purposes, and this was long before he ever ran for office. I thought he was using, actually manipulating, what he had done in Vietnam. Just like he's doing now."

Ferris is one of 250 Swift boat veterans who in May signed an open letter to the Massachusetts senator asking for full disclosure of his military records, specifically focusing on events during a four-month tour in Vietnam for which Kerry was awarded medals for bravery in combat. The veterans group -- Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- has criticized Kerry for using his military experience as a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, arguing that the Democrat has exaggerated his experiences at war for political gain.

"I thought he was just another hot dog just trying to build his reputation," said Wayland Holloway of Searcy, Ark., who says he crossed paths with Kerry in 1969, one day before the future presidential candidate pulled Jim Rassmann from a river. "The first time I met John Kerry, frankly, I thought he was a very disingenuous person."

But while the group appears to be rooted in Republican politics and big money, several veterans who signed the letter said in interviews yesterday that they are casually into politics and generally are not convinced that Kerry is lying, but they do not like the candidate because of his polarizing speeches in the 1970s.

James Zumwalt, who attended the group's first news conference in May, said he joined the group solely to set the record straight about the allegations of war crimes included in "Tour of Duty," a Douglas Brinkley book about Kerry's Vietnam service. Now, Zumwalt says, "I kind of have mixed feelings" about the tone of the group's attacks. "I would not try to question the awards given to him or his service."

Many of the veterans, scattered across the country, learned about the anti-Kerry group through friends, at reunions for Swift boat vets or on the Internet, and most have limited their involvement to signing the single letter to Kerry. Some say they voted for Al Gore in the last election but are still deeply hurt by what Kerry did when he returned from battle.

Kenneth Knipple of Erie, Mich., who served three years in Vietnam, backed Gore in 2000 but joined the anti-Kerry movement after leaning about it from a fellow vet. "For him to be wounded that many times and lie as many times as he did, I don't want him to be president," said Knipple, who served on Swift boats, but never with Kerry.

"I wasn't there at the time that happened," said Tony Gisclair, a veteran from Poplarville, Miss., who signed the letter, referring to Kerry's combat in Vietnam. "But look at what the man said about us when he came back."

Tony Snesko, a veteran in Washington, D.C., said he was "devastated" by Kerry's antiwar efforts, prompting him to sign on to the group's anti-Kerry message.

Snesko said to see Kerry elected would give credence to the senator's claims that those who fought in Vietnam were reckless baby-killers: "At the point that he might possibly take over this country as president -- it would validate everything that he said about us and would make it appear true."

The effort has gained momentum in the past month, as the veterans group began airing a controversial television commercial questioning Kerry's version of his service and asking him to disclose his military records. The Kerry camp has been attacking Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, calling it a front for President Bush's reelection efforts.

The May 4 letter arose out of a broader effort coordinated by a longtime Kerry foe and Republican supporter, Texas lawyer John E. O'Neill, also a Swift boat veteran. At the behest of the Nixon White House in 1971, O'Neill debated Kerry on television about the war.

O'Neill, who co-wrote "Unfit for Command," an anti-Kerry book published this week, gathered other Swift boat veterans to start the group and allowed word to spread. The group's core membership -- which has met three times and has had several conference calls -- includes a seven-member steering committee and about 10 other members.

"We really got this thing going in the hopes the Democratic Party would listen to us and perhaps nominate someone else," said Bill Lannom of Grinnell, Iowa, whom O'Neill recruited onto the steering committee. Lannom bristles at the thought of Kerry being elected to the presidency. "He's lying, and he's betraying us," Lannom said. "He's telling untruths about us and his character. He's talking about atrocities that didn't happen. And then he's using that same experience to promote himself. He can't have it both ways."

Unlike casual participants, the most committed members say they are driven by desire to expose Kerry as a fraud who doctored his record to win medals and an early release from Vietnam. But they are a minority in the larger group.

John L. Kipp of Brown County, Ind., said he learned about the letter to Kerry while surfing the Web and added his signature because he does not believe that Kerry is telling the whole truth. Kipp, who commanded a Swift boat in Vietnam, doubts that Kerry would have left his boat to attack an enemy, as he has asserted. "It really bothered me when he started to ballyhoo his war record," said Kipp, 62. "You don't turn on your comrades and say these terrible, awful things that I know I had never seen. There's something about keeping faith with those you served with."

Don Hammer, a veteran from Bloomington, Ill., said he admires Kerry. Hammer also said he believes Kerry was within his rights to speak out against the war. But still, Hammer has questions. "My goal is to tell Mr. Kerry to open up his service record," he said. "I don't know what happened. Nobody else knows what happened."
--------------------------------------------------

Staff writer Jim VandeHei and research editor Margot Williams contributed to this report.

Chicago Trib Swift Boat Commander: Kerry critics wrong
Press Release Source: Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune Editor and Former Swift Boat Commander Breaks Silence; Says Kerry Critics Wrong
Saturday August 21, 11:00 am ET


CHICAGO, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- "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.

"One is John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate who won a Silver Star for what happened on that date. I am the other."

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040821/CGSA002-a http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040821/CGSA002-b http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040821/CGSA002-c http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040821/CGSA002-d )

So begins William Rood's compelling account of events that happened more than 35 years ago. The article appears in the Sunday, August 22 edition of the Chicago Tribune.

Rood, now night city editor for the Chicago Tribune, earned a Bronze Star for his part in the operation. Rood has chosen to break more than three decades of silence in defense of the men who served alongside him.

"It's gotten harder and harder for those of us who were there to listen to accounts we know to be untrue, especially when they come from people who were not there," Rood writes. "What matters most to me is that this is hurting crew men 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."

William Rood's complete account will appear in the Sunday, August 22 edition of the Chicago Tribune, available Saturday in Chicago and online at chicagotribune.com.

Chicago Tribune Managing Editor James O'Shea said Rood has refused all interview requests up to now, including some from the Tribune's reporters. "Bill is a modest man and he didn't want his harrowing combat experiences to become engulfed in a political campaign.

"As the coverage of Senator Kerry's war record has intensified, though, Rood decided to come forward with his story, primarily, he says, because Kerry's critics are telling stories that Rood knows to be untrue. The false accounts are casting doubts on the actions of those men who served with and under Rood, men who are not public figures running for president but brave, ordinary Americans, war veterans whose courage, Rood believes, should not be diminished by a heated political campaign."

NOTE: William Rood will not be available for further comment or interviews. Deputy Managing Editor George de Lama and reporter Tim Jones are available.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Chicago Tribune

Military records support Kerry's account of Vietnam service
Posted on Fri, Aug. 20, 2004
Military records support Kerry's account of Vietnam service
BY Joseph L. Galloway
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Military records back John Kerry's account of his service in Vietnam and have backed at least two of his accusers into a corner.

Kerry this week was forced to defend himself against accusations by a group of fellow Navy veterans of Vietnam that he was a liar and a coward. The charges were made in a book and in an attack ad that polls show have chipped away at Kerry's standing with veterans in three critical states - West Virginia, Wisconsin and Ohio.

The long-ago Vietnam War has suddenly become a central issue in the presidential campaign. The attacks by the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have called into account Kerry's conduct during the war, when he volunteered for one of the most dangerous duties - the so-called Brown Water Navy, which regularly penetrated Viet Cong-controlled territory via the maze of waterways in the sodden Mekong Delta.

Although the 15 veterans featured in the attack ad all state "I served with John Kerry," none of them served on the same boat with him. Those who did, such as retired Chief Petty Officer Del Sandusky, 60, of Clearwater, Fla., praise Kerry for his leadership and credit him with keeping them alive to make it home.

"We are really upset at this stuff," Sandusky told Knight Ridder. "They are calling us all liars. They dishonor us and they dishonor all those who died over there. They are getting awfully desperate. Last year many of them were on board with us. Now they are telling outrageous lies."

Kerry has said that members of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth lied when they said he inflated his role in various combat actions in the Mekong Delta in 1968 and 1969 and had manipulated the award of three Purple Heart medals for wounds and Bronze and Silver Star medals for valor in combat.

Kerry released a stack of his military records - including after-action reports, citations for his medals, boat battle damage reports and his officer efficiency reports. These records - and the military records of at least one of his accusers - cast serious doubt on some of the more inflammatory charges raised by the group.

It didn't help the cause of the Swift Boat Veterans group that some of them, including their leader, retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffman, were on the record praising Kerry for his service in Vietnam.

Kerry's commanding officer in Vietnam, George Elliott, said in an attack ad: "John Kerry has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam."

But during the Vietnam War, Elliott recommended Kerry for the Silver and Bronze Star medals for valor in combat and gave him the highest possible praise in his officer efficiency reports.

"In a combat environment often requiring independent, decisive action, LTjg Kerry was unsurpassed," Elliott wrote in 1969. He went on to rate Kerry as "calm, professional and highly courageous in the face of enemy fire."

Elliott added: "(Kerry) emerges as the acknowledged leader in his peer group." In 16 categories on Kerry's officer efficiency report, ranging from professional knowledge to moral courage to military bearing to reliability, Elliott gave Kerry the highest possible rating - "is not exceeded" - in 11 categories, and the second highest, "one of the top 10" in five other categories.

Elliott in 1996 supported Kerry in his re-election campaign for the Senate and during an appearance in Boston declared that Kerry had earned the Silver Star "for an act of courage."

Another critic, Larry Thurlow, a fellow Swift boat commander in the Mekong Delta in 1969, disputed Kerry's claim that his boat and others in the five-boat patrol came under enemy fire during a March 13, 1969, mission that earned Kerry a Bronze Star.

Thurlow said that although one of the Swift boats was disabled by a mine explosion, there was no enemy fire from shore, as Kerry and others testified, and that Kerry's account was "a total fabrication." Thurlow said in an affidavit: "I never heard a shot."

However, a citation for the Bronze Star with valor awarded to Thurlow for that same mission stated that his actions "took place under constant enemy small arms fire which (Thurlow) completely ignored" while he provided assistance to the damaged Swift boat and the wounded aboard.

Thurlow said he had lost his medal citation for that incident over two decades ago and stood by his account that there was no enemy fire at the time.

His account was further called into question by a battle damage assessment report on another Swift boat, PCF-51, involved in the March 13 action. The report listed three .30-caliber bullet holes in the superstructure of the 50-foot patrol boat.

The Swift boat veterans also have cast doubt on Kerry's account that a second mine explosion damaged his boat, PCF-94, and blew an Army Special Forces officer, Jim Rassmann, overboard. Kerry's Bronze Star was awarded for his rescue of Rassmann, who credited Kerry with saving his life.

Among the records was a battle damage report filed the following day, March 14, which stated that PCF-94 had three windows blown out, radios and radar inoperable, the boat's auxiliary generator inoperable, screws curled and chipped, aft helm steerage control not working. The boat was judged incapable of executing patrols without repairs.

In the TV ad Swift Boat veteran Adrian Lonsdale declared Kerry "lacks the capacity to lead." Yet he, too, appeared to support Kerry in 1996, saying of him: "He was among the finest of those Swift boat drivers."

In a month when the Democratic nominee had hoped to avoid running any ads to conserve funds for the final sprint this fall, Kerry strategists instead prepared to spend nearly $200,000 responding to the attack ads of the veterans group in key states.

The bulk of the funding for the Swift Boat veterans' group comes from wealthy Texas Republicans.

A new ad was scheduled to begin running shortly, focusing this time on Kerry's testimony against the Vietnam War in 1971.

Oregon prosecutor accuses Kerry in ad
Oregon prosecutor accuses Kerry in ad
Friday, August 20, 2004
NOELLE CROMBIE
The Oregonian

A Clackamas County prosecutor and decorated Vietnam veteran who appears in an ad attacking Democratic presidential contender John F. Kerry's war record said he did not witness the events in question and is relying on the accounts of his friends who served with the senator. [/u]

The 60-second ad, which aired for seven days this month in Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin, features 13 Vietnam veterans, including Alfred French, 58, a senior deputy district attorney in Clackamas County.

In the ad, French says: "I served with John Kerry. . . . He is lying about his record."

The ad was paid for by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group of 300 Vietnam veterans who served in Swift boats and say Kerry has lied about his war record and disgraced his fellow veterans by publicly opposing the conflict upon his return home. The group said the ad will be aired again, though it has not decided where it will be shown.

French, in an interview Thursday, said Kerry lied about the circumstances that led to one of his Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. Kerry received a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts commanding a Swift boat in Vietnam.

French said he is relying on the accounts of three other veterans who were friends of his at the time. A fourth veteran with whom French was acquainted corroborated their accounts.

"I was not a witness to these events but my friends were," said French, who was awarded two Bronze Stars during the war. "I believe these people. These are people I served with."

One of the men is Larry Thurlow, a leader of the veterans group and one of Kerry's most vocal critics. Thurlow, who served alongside Kerry, has disputed Kerry's claim that the senator's boat was under fire in March 1969 when he pulled Lt. Jim Rassmann out of the water.

But according to Thurlow's military records, obtained this week by The Washington Post, the five-boat flotilla was under enemy fire that day.

French -- relying on friends' accounts -- said Rassmann would have been picked up by another boat if Kerry had not helped. And French said any shots that were fired came from U.S. soldiers providing cover as Rassmann and two others were rescued.

"It's not like he wouldn't have been saved if Kerry had not been there," French said. "I don't believe they were under any fire when that happened. None of the other boats were damaged."

He said Rassmann's rescue did not merit a special honor.

"Somebody fell off your boat and you go back and pick him up," French said. "It's not worthy of a Bronze Star in my opinion."

Rassmann, who lives in Florence and is campaigning for Kerry, said the ad is motivated in part by some veterans' anger over Kerry's antiwar stance upon returning home -- a charge French acknowledges. Rassmann said the group's claims are completely false.

"To come back 35 years later and conjure up fabricated stories is the lowest form of politics," said Rassmann, who said he does not know French.

"I honor these guys for their service," Rassmann said. "I know they were very courageous, along with John Kerry, and it saddens me that they are all at one another's throats."

French, a registered Republican, said he was reluctant at first to take part in the ad but ultimately "decided it was something I needed to do."

French said his one-year tour of duty in Vietnam overlapped Kerry's by two months. He said they served together in the same unit in January and February 1969. He said he did not know Kerry well during that time.

A married father of three, French is a well-regarded prosecutor who has spent most of his career in the Clackamas County district attorney's office.

Known for his reserved and steady manner, he is one of the prosecutors assigned to the double-murder case against accused child killer Ward Weaver.

Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote said French didn't need approval from him to appear in the ad.

"He has a right to his own personal opinions," Foote said.

And he isn't worried that French's public stand on the presidential race will affect his work.

"I have a lot of confidence in Al French and in his ability to do his job fairly," Foote said.

Media buzz aided anti-Kerry effort
Media buzz aided anti-Kerry effort
Ad ran in few states, but story was nationwide
By Mark Jurkowitz, Globe Staff | August 21, 2004

As the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth previewed another ad to air next week, a survey released yesterday said their first controversial attack on John F. Kerry's war record reached more than half the nation with the help of a media buzz created by talk radio and cable news.

The first spot, which began airing Aug. 5 and ran only in West Virginia, Ohio, and Wisconsin, triggered a counterattack on several fronts this week. On Thursday, Kerry accused the veterans of doing President Bush's campaign's "dirty work." A front-page story in yesterday's New York Times raised questions about the credibility of Kerry's accusers. And yesterday, the Kerry campaign filed a complaint against Swift Boat Veterans for Truth with the Federal Election Commission, claiming the group is illegally coordinating inaccurate ads with the Bush campaign.

Despite the questions about the veterans group's motives and methods, a poll released yesterday by the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey discovered a remarkable ripple effect for what survey director Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson characterized as "an ad that barely aired."

"In a lot of echo chambers, the echo is louder than the sound that made it in the first place," said Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.

The poll of 2,209 respondents found that more than half of them had seen or heard about the ad that accused Kerry of lying about his Vietnam record. Thirty-three percent reported viewing the spot, and another 24 percent said they heard about it, a phenomenon attributed largely to its widespread play on the cable news channels and conservative-dominated talk radio. Heavy consumers of cable news, for example, were more than twice as likely to have seen the ad as people who did not watch. Frequent talk radio listeners were more likely to have heard about the spot than less regular listeners.

In a Globe interview, Jamieson said the media became preoccupied with the ad at a time "in which there isn't a lot of other political news. The competing stuff on cable is Laci Peterson and Michael Jackson, and the political people wanted something to talk about. . . . It had conflict, it had pictures, you've got drama."

Chuck Todd, editor in chief of The Hotline, an online compendium of political news, remarked on the staying power of the flap over Kerry's war record. "Every day we've published since August 4 we've had a story [titled] 'Vietnam,' " he said. "Yesterday was day 15."

Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers magazine, which tracks the talk radio industry, called the controversy over the ad and Kerry's war record "a major part of the election 2004 election story. You have a lot of conservative hosts on talk radio, many of them backing Bush claims . . . It blends into the discussion of the election. It's part of the number one topic."

The Annenberg survey found a partisan tilt to the public's response to the ad's portrayal of Kerry's Vietnam service. Although 70 percent of those with a favorable opinion of Bush found the ad very or somewhat believable, only 19 percent of those who think highly of Kerry thought it was credible. Independent voters were almost evenly split about whether they believed the allegations.

There is some evidence suggesting the ad has had an impact. A new CBS News poll found veterans' backing for Kerry had dropped noticeably and suggested that "recent attacks on his Vietnam service" may have been a key factor. While veterans were split evenly between Bush and Kerry in the aftermath of the Democratic convention, Bush had opened up an 18-point lead with that group in the new survey. Todd said he had seen a West Virginia poll indicating that more than 60 percent of the state's residents had seen or heard about the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth ad, and that 16 percent said it had given them a less favorable view of Kerry.

Yesterday, the veterans upped the ante by rolling out another ad as part of a $600,000 buy that will begin airing Tuesday in three states where "Kerry has touted his military service," according to the group's spokesman, Sean McCabe. The spot features several veterans harshly criticizing Kerry's 1971 Senate testimony about atrocities that occurred in Vietnam. A statement quotes Admiral Roy Hoffman, founder of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, saying, "What John Kerry did made Jane Fonda look like a Red Cross volunteer. It was terribly demoralizing."

The Kerry campaign responded with a statement condemning "another ad from a front group funded by Bush allies that is trying to smear John Kerry. The newest ad takes Kerry's testimony out of context, editing what he said to distort the facts." The campaign also released records that it says indicate that two of the principals in the ad "are Republican activists . . . It's no wonder the Bush campaign refuses to condemn this smear."

The Bush campaign countered yesterday by describing the Democrats' FEC complaint as "frivolous" and said "real coordination is what John Kerry's campaign has been engaged in with the Media Fund, America Coming Together, and MoveOn.Org." Those liberal-leaning groups, like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, are tax-exempt organizations that have been active players in the presidential campaign.

Columbia Journalism Review:fact check of Kerry-Swiftboaters
Columbia Journalism Review
August 20, 2004
Fact Check
Truth and Consequences

While they may not be getting the details right about the connection between the Bush administration and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the campaign press finally is doing something we've been hoping for for months: Sorting out truth from fiction in the controversy over John Kerry's military service in Vietnam.

Launching a salvo into an August political news vacuum earlier this month, SBVFT jump-started the controversy by alleging Kerry had lied to receive his medals. The melee was further fueled by the release of Unfit for Command a book authored by John O'Neill, a Houston lawyer and the man who took over command Kerry's swift boat after his return stateside, and Jerome Corsi, a Harvard Ph.D.

Until late Wednesday night Kerry himself let the accusations fly without aggressively challenging them, until, as many papers reported today, he decided it was time to fight back. In wake of the senator's new approach, Campaign Desk has seen an equally rejuvenated press corps. Yesterday, the Washington Post published a report based on the official Navy records of LTJG Larry Thurlow, which calls into question Thurlow's criticism of Sen. Kerry. Thurlow has charged that Kerry's swift boat was not under attack from enemy fire on March 13, 1969. Thurlow, like Kerry, received a bronze star for his actions that day, and Thurlow's official navy records filed for the citation praises Thurlow for his action "despite enemy bullets flying about him."

Then today the New York Times took an in-depth look (nearly 3,500 words) at the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's "web of connections to the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures and President Bush's chief political aide, Karl Rove."

In a break from "he-said, she-said" journalism the press found enough backbone to assert truth when supported by fact. Rather than relying on partisan talking points to provide a rebuttal, the Times' Kate Zernike and Jim Rutenberg assert with the newspaper's voice that "But on close examination, the accounts of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth' prove to be riddled with inconsistencies. In many cases, material offered as proof by these veterans is undercut by official Navy records and the men's own statements." The Los Angeles Times' Matea Gold and Maria L. La Ganga did the same, writing, "A Times review of their accusations found that, in addition to Thurlow, other members also had given contradictory accounts of incidents and offered evidence of Kerry's alleged wrongdoing based on memories of events that they say they witnessed from a boat or two away. Military documents and accounts of crewmates who did serve with Kerry support the view put forth by the candidate and his campaign -- that he acted courageously and came by his five medals honestly."

Although the press should be commended for its assertiveness, it appears that it only acted aggressively when prompted by Kerry (with the exception of a few including the Post), once again letting the candidate's charges dictate what's worth pursing. Perhaps if the press corps had been as aggressive in reporting out this story months ago when the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth held its initial press conference, rather than simply printing he said/she said accounts that highlighted the controversy and not the facts, Americans wouldn't be quite so confused as to which version of the story has more credibility based on official records and previous oral accounts.

In a campaign season where the candidates have demonstrated a willingness (even eagerness) to misinform voters, it's the responsibility of the press to inform the public about who's enlightening us with fact and who's misleading us with fiction.

--Thomas Lang - CJR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 20, 2004
Spin Buster
Running Swiftly Towards the Controversy

John Kerry's decision to come out swinging against attacks on his war record dominates campaign coverage today -- and in their rush to report the juicy controversy, many in the press glossed over a critical fact about the Bush campaign's relationship to an independent groups running the ads.

"Faced with unrelenting attacks on his military record, Sen. John F. Kerry on Thursday said a Republican-funded group of veterans is lying about his service in Vietnam and operating as a front organization for President Bush," (italics ours) write the Washington Post's Lois Romano and Jim VandeHei.

The New York Times' Jodi Wilgoren also tops her story with Kerry's claim that the Swift Boat vets are "a front for the Bush campaign."

The Times and the Post,along with the Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, and USA Today all duly reported Kerry's charge linking the group to the Bush White House.

That's John Kerry's take on the Swift Boat Veterans, and the campaign press should be careful that they report it as such. At the same time, the media also is obligated to note that, under federal campaign finance law, Swift Boat Veterans is an organization independent of the Bush campaign and Republican National Committee. It may be funded and advised by several people with ties to the Republican Party (see the related New York Times story on the Swift Boat Veterans, complete with chart) but it is officially unaffiliated with candidate or party.

Wilgoren eventually does provide this information, but phrases it this way: "Mr. Bush's campaign continued to deny any connection with the anti-Kerry group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a so-called 527 committee that operates independently under the new campaign finance rules." ("Continued to deny" is a phrase that seems to imply a scent of scandal.)

Readers of the Post got an even less informative disclaimer: "... [T]here is no evidence the president's campaign has direct connections to the anti-Kerry group."

Los Angeles Times readers received this explanation: "The Bush campaign denied that the president was backing the group." Other than referring to the Swift Boat Veterans as an "independent committee," Times readers were given no other explanation of the group's origins.

Deep into the Post story comes this observation: "The [Kerry] campaign wants to convince voters that Bush and White House political director Karl Rove are behind the effort, at least in spirit."

A review of today's news stories makes it appear they have succeeded.

--Susan Q. Stranahan - CJR

Navy Commander, Journalist, Backs Kerry on Vietnam
Sat Aug 21, 2004 12:32 PM ET
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By Carol Giacomo
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - An American journalist who commanded a boat alongside John Kerry in Vietnam broke a 35-year silence on Saturday and defended the Democratic presidential candidate against Republican critics of his military service.

Weighing in on what has become the most bitterly divisive issue of the 2004 campaign for the White House, William Rood of the Chicago Tribune said the tales told by Kerry's detractors are untrue.

"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," he wrote in a story that appeared on the newspaper's Web site on Saturday.

"One is John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate who won a Silver Star for what happened on that date. I am the other."

Before now, wanting to put memories of war and killing behind him, Rood had refused all requests for interviews on the subject, 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.

"It's gotten harder and harder for those of us who were there to listen to accounts we know to be untrue, especially when they come from people who were not there," he added.

Kerry, a former Navy lieutenant, is a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, and his war service is essential to his ability to challenge President Bush on issues of national security and leadership in the face of the Iraq war and terrorism threats.

Increasingly, veterans opposed to Kerry and allied with Bush -- led by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- have tried to undermine Kerry's service record and credibility and the justification for his medals.

In the face of a new CBS poll showing Kerry's support among veterans has slipped since the Democratic convention, the Massachusetts senator has launched an aggressive counterattack.

On Friday, Kerry accused the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth of collaborating with the Bush campaign and asked the Federal Election Commission to force the group to withdraw ads challenging his Vietnam service.

Bush spent the war in the United States serving in the Texas Air National Guard. Some Democrats have accused Bush of going absent without leave from the guard, citing gaps in his attendance record.

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.


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Navy Commander, Journalist

New Evidence Undermines Swift Vets' Attack on Kerry
New Evidence Undermines Swift Vets' Attack on Kerry
08/20/2004 @ 7:23pm
David Corn, The Nation

On March 13, 1969, in the Bay Hap River, did Lieut. John Kerry, captain of Swift boat PCF-94, defy enemy fire and heroically save the life of First Lieut. Jim Rassmann, who had been blown off Kerry's boat into the water by a mine explosion? Or did Kerry, during this mission involving five Swift boats, merely help a comrade return to his boat at a time of relative calm? A band of anti-Kerry veterans funded by Republican donors--who call themselves Swift Boat Veterans for Truth--have claimed that there was no enemy fire when Kerry pulled Rassmann into his boat and that Kerry did not deserve the Bronze Star he won for this incident. Although the citation for Kerry's Bronze Star notes he rescued Rassmann in the face of sniper fire and Kerry, Rassmann and PCF-94 crew members all say Rassmann was under fire when Kerry pulled him aboard, the anti-Kerry vets insist that was not how it happened, that there was no enemy fire. Their campaign against Kerry took a hit yesterday when The Washington Post disclosed that the military records of Larry Thurlow--a leader of the anti-Kerry outfit who also won a Bronze Star for actions taken during this engagement--contradict Thurlow's claim that there was no enemy fire at the time. (See here.) Military records obtained by The Nation provide more evidence that there was enemy fire during this episode.

Three Navy men won Bronze Stars for their actions that day: Kerry, Thurlow, and radarman first class Robert Eugene Lambert, a petty officer in the boat captained by Thurlow. The citation for Lambert's Bronze Star--previously undisclosed but obtained today under the Freedom of Information Act from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis--repeats the description of the incident included in the citation for Thurlow's Bronze Star: "all units came under small arms and automatic weapons fire from the river banks." Lambert's citation also notes that Lambert--who assumed command of PCF-51 after Thurlow went to assist another Swift boat damaged by a mine--"directed accurate suppressing fire at the enemy." The citation praises Lambert's "coolness, professionalism and courage under fire."

In an affidavit Thurlow signed last month, he said "no return fire occurred....I never heard a shot." He said to the Post, "I am here to state that we weren't under fire." But the individual citations for Thurlow, Kerry and Lambert each refer to enemy fire. And the Lambert citation also suggests there was a need for his boat to engage in "suppressing fire."

Asked about the discrepancy between his own account and his citation, Thurlow, who was the senior skipper in the flotilla involved in this engagement, said that Kerry was often able to present his own (presumably self-serving) descriptions of events to superiors. But neither Thurlow nor the Swift Boat group has substantiated this claim. And did Kerry rig not only his own award recommendation but those of Thurlow and Lambert? In the award recommendation for Thurlow's Bronze Star, Lambert--not Kerry--is listed as the eyewitness. (And Del Sandusky, a crew mate of Kerry, was the eyewitness listed in the award recommendation for Kerry. According to the National Personnel Records Center, Lambert's file no longer contains the award recommendation for his Bronze Star.)

Kerry has posted his award citation on his web site (click here), and Thurlow's Bronze Star citation was posted by the Post (click here). Lambert's citation describes what seems to have been a harrowing situation. It reads in full:

"For meritorious achievement while serving with Coastal Division ELEVEN engaged in armed conflict against Viet Cong communist aggressors in An Xuyen Province, Republic of Vietnam on 13 March 1969. Inshore Patrol Craft [PCF] 51, with Petty Officer Lambert serving as Leading Petty Officer, was conducting a SEA LORDS operation in the Bay Hap river with four other boats. The boats were exiting the river when a mine detonated under another Inshore Patrol Craft, inflicting heavy damage to the boat and wounding the entire crew. At the same time, all units came under small arms and automatic weapons fire from the river banks. Inshore Patrol Craft 51 immediately proceeded to aid the damaged Inshore Patrol Craft, where the Officer-in-Charge [Larry Thurlow] leaped aboard to render assistance. Petty Officer LAMBERT assumed command of Inshore Patrol Craft 51 and directed accurate suppressing fire at the enemy. While administering first aid to the crew of the damaged Inshore Patrol Craft, Inshore Patrol Craft 51's Officer-in-Charge was knocked overboard. Petty Officer LAMBERT, without hesitation, directed Inshore Patrol Craft 51 alongside his Officer-in-Charge, where, from an exposed position and with complete disregard for his personal safety, he pulled him aboard. Petty Officer LAMBERT then returned his Officer-in-Charge to the aid of the damaged Inshore Patrol Craft and remained in command of Inshore Patrol Craft 51 until all units cleared the river. Petty Officer LAMBERT's coolness, professionalism and courage under fire significantly contributed to the rescue of his Officer-in-Charge and the damaged Inshore Patrol Craft and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

Lambert, a career Navy man who served on active duty from 1957 to 1978, could not be located. But his records offer more support for Kerry's account (which, by the way, is the official account). And the credibility of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has been challenged on several fronts. Jerome Corsi, the co-author of the book the group is promoting, Unfit for Command, recently acknowledged that he has posted anti-Catholic, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic comments on a conservative website. Others involved with the anti-Kerry outfit have flip-flopped and altered their stories. For instance, George Elliott, a leading member of the group who was the commander who signed the recommendation for Kerry's Bronze Star, campaigned with Kerry in 1996, defending him after questions were raised about Kerry's Silver Star. (Kerry received this medal for chasing down and killing an enemy soldier on February 28, 1969.) And in 1969, Elliot wrote Kerry's fitness report and noted, "In a combat environment often requiring independent decisive action, Lt. j.g. Kerry was unsurpassed." Now he says Kerry lied about his service in Vietnam. And today the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth unveiled a new ad that assailed Kerry for having criticized the conduct of American soldiers in Vietnam. The ad claims Kerry, during his famous testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, accused his fellow soldiers of having committed atrocities. But Kerry, then a leader of the movement against the Vietnam War, was reporting what other soldiers had said they had done. (Today the Kerry campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing the group of illegally coordinating with the Bush campaign.)

The latest volley from the Swift Vets shows what motivates these anti-Kerry veterans. They remain mad at him for opposing the war and addressing its worst aspects. As for what happened on March 13, 1969, the issue is whether to accept the accounts of veterans who are angry with Kerry or the documentary evidence that is seconded by Rassmann, a Republican, and Kerry's crew mates. Lambert's citation offers more reason to wonder about the Swift Boat group's version of events and to question its dedication to the truth.
-------------------------------

Reporting assistance for this story was provided by Shane Goldmacher

The vietnaum vetrans that are attacking Kerry and claiming that he lied have forgotten about Mi La. There were attrocities commited in vietnaum just as they are in Iraq. Its the nature of war. Something someone like Bush and Cheney wouldent understand never haveing had to have faced it. What is really sad is the thought that some war heros can be bought.

Excellent work collecting a wide body of articles on the subject, guys.


Cycloptichorn

Swift Boat Accounts Incomplete; critics fail to prove
Swift Boat Accounts Incomplete
Critics Fail to Disprove Kerry's Version of Vietnam War Episode
By Michael Dobbs
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 22, 2004; Page A01

When John F. Kerry rescued Jim Rassmann from the Bay Hap River in the jungles of Vietnam in March 1969, neither man could possibly have imagined that the episode would become a much-disputed focus of an American presidential campaign 35 years later.

For Kerry, then a green and gangly Navy lieutenant junior grade and now the Democratic challenger to a wartime Republican president, that tale of heroism under fire has become integral to his campaign. A centerpiece of public rallies, videos and a new campaign advertisement, it has helped distinguish the candidate from his Democratic primary rivals and from President Bush, who spent the war at home as a member of the Texas Air National Guard.

U.S. Navy Swift boat skippers John F. Kerry, left, and William B. Rood at their base in An Thoi, South Vietnam, in late February 1969 after military action for which Kerry was awarded the Silver Star and Rood the Bronze Star. (Courtesy Of William B. Rood)

A Record Questioned

Members of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have challenged several aspects of John F. Kerry's military record in addition to his account of the March 13, 1969, mission for which he was awarded the Bronze Star; Kerry's campaign has vigorously defended his record. Among the events at issue:

Kerry's First Purple Heart

Dec. 2 1968

What Kerry has said:

On a predawn patrol, as he and other sailors were firing on suspected Vietcong, a "stinging piece of heat socked into my arm and just seemed to burn like hell," meaning he had taken a small piece of shrapnel.

What his challengers say:

Kerry took a tiny fragment of shrapnel when he fired an M-79 grenade too close to his boat, inflicting his own wound, which was trivial. Self-inflicted wounds are ineligible for Purple Hearts.

What available military records say:

A medical report on Kerry's injury was signed by J.C. Carreon, not Louis Letson, the doctor who treated Kerry, according to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Letson says that Carreon, a corpsman, routinely drew up reports on his behalf.

Christmas in Cambodia


December 1968

What Kerry has said:

Over the years, he has repeatedly said he was illegally ordered into Cambodia during Christmas 1968. Last week, his campaign issued a statement saying he was in Cambodia but did not specify a date.

What his challengers say:

At the time, Kerry was stationed in an area about 50 miles from the Cambodian border, and he never entered that country then or at any other time during his service in Vietnam.

What available military records say:

Kerry's boat at the time, PCF-44, was 40 to 50 miles south of the Cambodian border at 7 a.m. on Christmas Eve. With a cruising speed of 23 knots, the boat could have reached the border in about two hours, but there is no archival evidence it did so.

Kerry's Silver Star


Feb. 28, 1969

What Kerry has said:

While in command of a three-boat mission, his Swift boat was ambushed; he ordered his men to beach the boat so he could pursue the attacking Vietcong; a teenager with a grenade launcher popped out of a hole a few feet away; one of Kerry's men shot and wounded him in the leg, but he ran; Kerry, fearing the youth was trying to get far enough away to fire a grenade, chased him and shot him dead. Support for Kerry's account came yesterday from the only other surviving Swift boat commander to witness the incident, William B. Rood.

What his challengers say:

Kerry's conduct was neither extraordinary nor medal-worthy; the decoration was based on false and incomplete information that Kerry provided and was not properly reviewed; ordering the craft beached reflected poor tactical judgment.

What available military records say:

The Silver Star citation describes the beaching of the boat and says, "Without hesitation Lt. Kerry leaped ashore, pursued the man behind a hootch and killed him, capturing a B-40 rocket launcher with a round in the chamber."

SOURCES: "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War" by Douglas Brinkley; "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry" by John E. O'Neill and Jerome R. Corsi; the Los Angeles Times; and military records on the Kerry campaign Web site.

For the Massachusetts senator's critics, who include three of the five Swift boat skippers who were present that day, the incident demonstrates why Kerry does not deserve to be commander in chief. They accuse him of cowardice, hogging the limelight and lying. Far from displaying coolness under fire, they say, Kerry was never fired upon and fled the scene at the moment of maximum danger.

Establishing the facts is complicated not merely by fading memories and sometimes ambiguous archival evidence, but also by the bitterly partisan nature of the presidential campaign.

An investigation by The Washington Post into what happened that day suggests that both sides have withheld information from the public record and provided an incomplete, and sometimes inaccurate, picture of what took place. But although Kerry's accusers have succeeding in raising doubts about his war record, they have failed to come up with sufficient evidence to prove him a liar.

CONTINUE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21239-2004Aug21.html

Mo Dowd in the NYT:



Indeed.

Big lies for Bush, legacy of Bush family history of smears
BOSTONGLOBE EDITORIAL
Big lies for Bush
August 22, 2004

IMAGINE IF supporters of Bill Clinton had tried in 1996 to besmirch the military record of his opponent, Bob Dole. After all, Dole was given a Purple Heart for a leg scratch probably caused, according to one biographer, when a hand grenade thrown by one of his own men bounced off a tree. And while the serious injuries Dole sustained later surely came from German fire, did the episode demonstrate heroism on Dole's part or a reckless move that ended up killing his radioman and endangering the sergeant who dragged Dole off the field?

The truth, according to many accounts, is that Dole fought with exceptional bravery and deserves the nation's gratitude. No one in 1996 questioned that record. Any such attack on behalf of Clinton, an admitted Vietnam draft dodger, would have been preposterous.

Yet amazingly, something quite similar is happening today as supporters of President Bush attack the Vietnam record of Senator John Kerry.

The situations are not completely parallel. Bush was not a draft dodger, but he certainly was a Vietnam avoider, having joined the Texas Air National Guard rather than serving in the regular military.

Kerry, on the other hand, may have done more than Dole to qualify as a genuine war hero. Although his tour in Vietnam was short, on at least two occasions he acted decisively and with great daring in combat, saving at least one man's life and earning both a Silver Star and a Bronze Star. That's not our account or Kerry's; it is drawn from eyewitnesses and the military citations themselves.

Yet a group of Vietnam veterans is questioning Kerry's record, operating cynically and ignoring the evidence. Many in this group felt betrayed by Kerry's opposition to the Vietnam War after he returned home. A renewed debate on that war might be useful, though we believe most Americans now agree with Kerry's famous statement to Congress at the time that it was a mistake.

Rather than seeking debate, however, this group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, is attempting political assassination, claiming in ads and a best-selling book that Kerry is "Unfit for Command." In many cases the charges conflict with statements the same men made in the past. Sometimes the allegations contradict documentary evidence. Last week a former swift boat commander, Larry Thurlow, said Kerry didn't deserve his Bronze Star because there was no enemy fire at the time, but this is contradicted by five separate accounts -- including the Bronze Star citation Thurlow himself was awarded in the same incident, as reported by The Washington Post.

While a few details and dates of Kerry's Vietnam record are open to question, most of the accusations are laughable. Kerry's record of service in Vietnam is clear and, one would think, unassailable. Given the contrast in their Vietnam-era records -- Bush even let his pilot's license lapse while still in the Guard -- Bush might be expected to change the subject.

Yet the Kerry opponents, working with funders and political operatives closely linked to Bush personally, are attempting what is known in politics as the big lie -- an effort simply to contradict the truth repeatedly.

Both parties do it, but Republicans are developing a shocking expertise. The smearing of John McCain in South Carolina in 2000, the reprehensible attack to oust Senator Max Cleland of Georgia in 2002, and this utterly cynical campaign against Kerry by Bush's False Squad deserve only condemnation.

Kerry has faulted a few of his own supporters who lampooned Bush's National Guard record. Now Bush should call off his dogs.

Bush Supporter Leaves Campaign Over Role in Ad
Bush Supporter Leaves Campaign Over Role in Ad
Sat Aug 21, 2004 09:47 PM ET
By Jeremy Pelofsky
(With additional reporting by Adam Entous)

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - A Vietnam veteran who worked with President Bush's campaign has left over his appearance in a commercial by a group challenging Democratic candidate John Kerry's war record, a campaign spokesman said on Saturday.

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Ken Cordier was a Bush supporter during the 2000 election and served as a member of his a steering committee to help reach out to veterans during this election.

"Col. Cordier did not inform the campaign of his involvement in the advertisement being run by (Swift Boat Veterans for Truth)," Schmidt said. "Because of his involvement with this 527 (group), Col. Cordier will no longer participate" in the steering committee.

The disclosure of Cordier's involvement came one day after White House spokesman Scott McClellan and Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot denied the campaign coordinated with the group on the ads, which claim that Kerry lied about his Vietnam War service.

Kerry has called the ads inaccurate and accused the group of being a front for the Bush campaign. On Friday the Kerry campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission seeking to force the ads' withdrawal.

New advertisements by the group are set to debut next week in states where Kerry has touted his military service. Kerry won several medals and his record is often contrasted with Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard during the war.

McClellan has refused to specifically condemn the ads and instead has urged Kerry to join Bush in calling for an end to all commercials funded by unrestricted donations.

U.S. advocacy groups can collect vast sums of money to run their own political advertisements but are barred from coordinating their activities with campaigns or political parties.

"There seems to be an increasing amount of evidence that the Bush campaign is behind this," Kerry campaign spokesman Phil Singer said. "So it's no surprise that the president refuses to condemn these scurrilous ads."

The Bush campaign has said Kerry ignores the fact that his backers run attack advertising aimed at the president.

Over the last 12 months, groups favoring the Democrats have spent $63.5 million on ads attacking Bush, according to the Bush campaign, which filed its own FEC complaint earlier this year alleging coordination between Kerry and the left-leaning groups.

Blogger finds link between Bush and Swift Boat smearers
Congratulations for good work by this blogger, who discovered the link between the Bush administration and the Swift Boat liars. The result is in the story above this post. I had posted this article on another thread but want to link the stories here. ---BBB

Hullabaloo
Friday, August 20, 2004
Nothing To See Here

I wonder if its appropriate for Ken Cordier, a member of the Veterans For Bush-Cheney '04 steering committee to appear in the new "unaffiliated" "independent" 527 Swift Boat Liars For Bush ad?

Of course you will only see his name if you google the cached version (linked above) of the page on the Bush-Cheney web site. Oddly, the current page doesn't list his name.

Now I'm certain this fine gentleman who has chosen to sell out his good name and reputation by joining a filthy smear operaton like Scumbag Liars For Bush would never coordinate with the campaign just because he also served as one of the Vice-Chairs Of Veterans For Bush-Cheney National Coalition in the 2000 camapign (pdf) and then was named to Bush's VA-POW advisory committee.

But some might think it doesn't look quite kosher. In fact, some might think it looks downright illegal.

Update:

The campaign is already on to this and has sent out the following press release. What they didn't have, however, was this Google cache which shows that Cordier was listed as a member of the Bush-Cheney campaign until August 19th. (And, by the way, in case it's escaped anyone's notice, Mr Cordier has a Frenchman in the woodpile.)

To continue the details:

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2004_08_15_digbysblog_archive.html#109305910964449236

Anti-Kerry group, Democrats air separate ads in ongoing skir
Posted on Fri, Aug. 20, 2004
Anti-Kerry group, Democrats air separate ads in ongoing skirmish
By James Kuhnhenn
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Anti-John Kerry veterans unveiled a new ad denouncing Kerry's 33-year-old stance against the Vietnam war, Kerry filed an official complaint against them, and Democrats aired their own ad featuring a former Air Force chief lauding Kerry as ready to command.

So went Friday's skirmish in the ongoing war over the war ads that are dominating the hot summer days of the presidential campaign.

The new commercial by the Republican-backed Swift Boat Veterans for Truth depicts three former Vietnam POWs condemning Kerry's April 22, 1971, testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where he described alleged U.S. atrocities against the Vietnamese and called for an end to the war.

"He betrayed us in the past. How could we be loyal to him now?" Ken Cordier, a retired Air Force colonel who was a POW in North Vietnam for seven years, asks in the ad.

Kerry's testimony before the committee that day 33 years ago put him in the national spotlight. Though the ad makes it appear as if Kerry is recounting atrocities he witnessed, he was in fact reciting claims made by soldiers earlier that year during an anti-war gathering in Detroit. "They had personally raped, cut off heads, cut off ears," he told senators.


Reflecting on those comments this year, Kerry said they were too harsh. "I think some of the language that I used was a language that reflected an anger. ... The words were honest, but on the other hand, they were a little bit over the top," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press" in April.

Kerry's campaign has made his service as a skipper of a Navy Swift boat in Vietnam a central element of his appeal to voters. Lately, Kerry has sidestepped his equally high profile role as a leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

Kerry's opposition to the war and his claims that U.S. troops had engaged in atrocities have reopened a split between veterans who salute his military service and those who object to his subsequent protests against the war.

The anti-Kerry veterans earlier this month aired another ad questioning the circumstances under which Kerry won a Bronze Star in Vietnam, prompting a tough response from Kerry on Thursday in Boston. Kerry accused the veterans of being a front for the Bush camp and said, "If he (President Bush) wants to have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: Bring it on!'"

The Kerry camp on Friday filed a legal complaint with the Federal Election Commission, claiming the veterans' group illegally coordinated with the Bush-Cheney campaign and with the Republican National Committee. They cited as evidence news reports linking some of the financiers behind the veterans' group to Bush campaign officials. The Bush camp, the RNC and leaders of the veterans' group have denied collaborating, which would be against the law.

Earlier this year, Bush and the RNC filed their own complaint with the FEC claiming that the Kerry camp was illegally coordinating with Democratic-leaning independent groups. The FEC has not acted on that complaint.

On Friday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said: "I do think that Senator Kerry losing his cool should not be an excuse for him to lash out at the president with false and baseless attacks."

Kerry himself has danced around direct criticism of Bush for serving stateside during Vietnam in the Air National Guard. But his close aides and supporters were ramping up their attacks on Friday.

"Maybe if George Bush had seen combat up close, his hired-gun mouthpiece wouldn't be so flip about the dishonest and dishonorable attack funded by the president's Texas pals," Kerry spokesman David Wade said.

The Democratic National Committee aired its own ad Friday featuring retired Gen. Merrill (Tony) McPeak, former Air Force chief of staff, offering testimonials to Kerry. In a teleconference with reporters, McPeak described his ad as positive. "I'm not highlighting the fact that Dick Cheney got five deferments or President Bush played dodge ball during Vietnam," McPeak said.