Texas-style politics is not for the weak of heart. Lyndon Johnson allegedly once advised a fellow Democrat running for local office to accuse his opponent of having sex with sheep. The candidate asked how could he make such a charge when it was so obviously false. Johnson’s answer was that it didn’t matter, the opponent would have to waste time and money objecting and a few fools might even believe the lie.
In that same spirit, three wealthy Texas friends of President Bush are putting big money behind a campaign to convince voters that the U.S. Navy made a serious mistake when they awarded John Kerry a Bronze Star and three purple hearts for his actions during the war in Vietnam. The group, whose web site is www.swiftvets.com, is sponsoring a 60-second television ad and one of its founders has written a book that attacks Kerry’s service in Vietnam.
Vietnam was in the words of one friend, “ugly duty.” The problem with this attack is that all the men who served with Kerry on the boat and during those fights are unflinching, and believable, in their support.
Yet, those attacking Kerry are relying on hearsay. One of those thirteen critics is George Elliot, Kerry’s commander. During the war, Elliot gave Kerry glowing marks in his fitness reviews. He also nominated Kerry for the Silver Star. When questions were raised about that nomination in the 1996 Massachusetts Senate race, Elliot publicly, and aggressively, came to Kerry’s defense. Now almost 40 years after the events in Vietnam, Elliot disavows his earlier praise. When confronted about his disavowal, he disavowed his disavowal. Now, he refuses to speak with the media, but disavows the disavowal of the first disavowal. We can only imagine what would happen should this man be cross-examined on a witness stand.
Adrian Lonsdale, another critic, met Kerry once in Vietnam in a Naval Officers Club. In 1996, he praised Kerry as “among the finest of those swift boat drivers.” Now, he is attacking Kerry as a liar and whiner. Seemingly, both is praise and criticism are worthless.
USA Today reports (“Anti-Kerry vets say “lies drove them to act,” August 9, 2004) that Louis Letson, a doctor, claims Kerry did not deserve his first purple heart because he “inadvertently” wounded himself. However, USA Today reports that that medical reports reveal that Kerry was wounded by shrapnel, not a bullet, and was treated by J.C. Carrelon, not Letson.
These critics are so unbelievable they may harm Bush more than Kerry. Senator John McCain, who heads the Bush campaign in Arizona, has called on the President to denounce these ads and have his friends take them off the air. Meanwhile the President refuses to respond. Rather, he sends out campaign aides who plead ignorance of it all.
If this were the first time such a tactic were associated with the Bush family, those denials might have some credence. But in 1988, an “independent” group ran the now infamous “Willie Horton” ad, which showed a picture of a degenerate criminal that candidate Bush’s opponent had pardoned. Once freed, Willie went on a crime spree. Throughout the campaign, George Herbert Walker Bush denied any knowledge or association with the ad, or any ability to stop its airing.
In the 2000 GOP South Carolina primary, ads attacking the patriotism and sacrifices of Senator John McCain, the principal Bush opponent, suddenly appeared in that race. As now, rich Texas friends of the President financed those ads. As now, the candidate denied any knowledge or association. Now comes the Kerry slur. Same pattern.
This ad, this far from the election, is risky business for the President. If the past is any guide, more than 80 percent of the media elite will be voting for Kerry, which means the sponsors are going to get the kind of press attention they could never imagine. Because this ad is so transparently sleazy, the people who are financing it are so clumsy, the vets who are making the accusations have no direct knowledge of their charges, and the men on Kerry’s boat are so sure of what happened, this ad and book are going to be taken apart word by word. So too are the 13 critics and their sponsors. In effect, George Bush is betting his credibility on the integrity of a couple of high-rolling Texas contractors.
Perhaps Lyndon Johnson was right. Make the slur and hope enough fools will believe it to make a difference in the election.
One thing, however, is sure. This ad reminds everyone that John Kerry served in Vietnam and George Bush did not. With friends such as these Texans, the President may soon find himself in Crawford, Texas, full time.
PAT CHOATE
Comments