T. Boone Pickens reneges on $1M bet with Senator Kerry

[babylonsister]

Kerry takes oilman Pickens up on $1 million Swift Boat challenge

By GLEN JOHNSON AP Political Writer


BOSTON — Sen. John Kerry, whose 2004 presidential campaign was torpedoed by critics of his Vietnam War record, said Friday he has personally accepted Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens' offer of $1 million to anyone who can disprove even a single charge of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Pickens, who provided $3 million to bankroll the group during Kerry's race against President Bush, responded by saying he won't consider giving Kerry the reward unless he surrenders his combat films, additional military records and wartime journal.

"While I am prepared to show they lied on allegation after allegation, you have generously offered to pay one million dollars for just one thing that can be proven false," Kerry wrote to Pickens. "I am prepared to prove the lie beyond any reasonable doubt."

The Massachusetts Democrat, a Navy veteran and former prosecutor, said he was willing to present his case directly to Pickens and would donate any proceeds to the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

In an interview, Kerry added: "It's beyond me; it's important for all the vets who served with me, who cared about it, whose own records were lied about. The problem is, it's the way they operate on the other side, and we have to end swift-boating forever. The way to do that is to have this public accounting."

more...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5309076.html

[brazos121200]

1. I think something should be done about

every one of the people who signed on to the swift boat veterans for truth. These people should have to account for their actions and not be allowed to melt away. I know it would be difficult to bring them up on charges, but something should be done.

[pretzel4gore]

7. terrorism, in action

after all, bush 'won' the 2k4 election

[pretzel4gore]

8. terrorism, in action

after all, bush 'won' the 2k4 election

[pretzel4gore]

9. terrorism, in action

after all, bush 'won' the 2k4 election

[VP505]

2. It figures he would

renege, I wonder why he even brought it up in the first place unless he has some sleazy plan to divert attention away from something else.

[MH1]

3. What a slimeball.

Shoots off his mouth then backs down when he is called on it.

Wants Kerry to give him his personal journal? Get f----- real.

[CTyankee]

17. Of course it's stupid. A "personal journal" is the easiest way to fabricate

if that were something you'd want to do! So even if Kerry did turn over his personal journal, Pickens will just call it a work of fiction...

[CTyankee]

19. And if Kerry gave him copies of his war footage, Pickens would just say it was "doctored."

Easy to do with film, doncha know!

Whew, this guy is so transparent it's laughable....

[0007]

4. I figured he would. T. Boone Pickens will only bet on a sure thing.

T. Boone Pickens is a big fucking blowhard, depicted as a boastful coward and loony tune.

T. Boone Pickens is ripe for a good fucking!

[Toots]

5. Simple fix to that is have someone else refute the LIES with Kerry to produce the evidence

What if say Howard Dean were to take up the offer? How would Pickens get out of it then? Would he try to make Dean produce Kerry's private affairs? Kerry could supply Dean with the facts and watch Pickens squirm...

[NewJeffCT]

6. The reward is for paralyzed veterans, not for Kerry

I mean, didn't even Fox News have tape of the Swifties debunking themselves - one of the main points of the book was that Kerry could not have spent Christmas in Cambodia, yet Alan Colmes on Fox confronted one of them with a tape of Nixon speaking with O'Neill and O'Neill saying how they went into Cambodia on their swift boats and spent Christmas there.

[Toots]

10. The reward is for anyone that can refute what the Swift Boat Liars said

Kerry said he would give the money to Paralyzed Veterans not Pickens...Anyone that wants an easy million dollars could take him up on it.. They could ask for Kerry's assistance on gathering certain facts I am sure...

[Mutineer]

11. Here's my question-why didn't Kerry do this in 2004?

Why now?

[NewJeffCT]

13. He supposedly did, it was just not covered by the media

see the other thread.

[MH1]

14. Please read Eric Boehlert's book "Lapdogs"

or at least the chapter devoted to media malfeasance regarding the Swift Liars.

There were many responses by many people, many ways the smears were debunked, the facts - as in official Navy records - were available for anyone who bothered to refer to them - but the media preferred to amplify the smear.

[CTyankee]

18. He didn't release ALL of the records that he released subsequently in 2005.

It was then that we learned that he had received a couple of Ds his freshman year at Yale (Bush only had one D his freshman year). Probably a stupid conceit of Kerry's. It was a news item here in New Haven, where Yale stuff is always news, and I wrote an LTTE saying that the Bush people were pointing out the school record to embarrass Kerry but also to cover up the fact that Kerry's previous release of his records were essentially validated.

[Inuca]

33. Wasn't the issue MILITARY records? n/t

[OzarkDem]

28. His campaign staff was too busy looking for ponies

that had to be one of the worst run campaigns, evah.

Too much money, too much arrogance, too lazy.

[Inuca]

34. Too uninformed? n/t

[Beelzebud]

30. He was too busy being the Most Electable Candidate.

[Gregorian]

12. Oilman. That speaks volumes.

There are people all over this country who must be getting their news from the three minutes of Fox Noise, as they drink their coffee and run out the door. Otherwise, tricks like the swift boat liars wouldn't even be an issue. Once again, it's the American idiots who are letting this crap happen.

[OzarkDem]

27. They won't play unless they can rig the game

in their favor. Typical Repug businessman. They would go broke overnight if they had to operate a business fairly and legally.

[Canuckistanian]

15. Changing the terms of the bet after being called on it.

How "honorable".

The original challenge was "disprove even a single charge of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth".

I think this whole thing was a ploy to get Kerry to turn over his personal information.

If they're REALLY doubting Kerry's qualifications for the military awards, then why aren't they harassing Kerry's commanding officers who awarded the medals?.

You don't get to pin medals on yourself.

[NJmaverick]

16. Typical right winger

Doesn't even know what the truth is.

[Froward69]

20. T. Boone Pickens = Lying Deadbeat

[karlrschneider]

21. In Oklahoma we have a name for guys like him: four-flusher

Unfortunately Okies tend to like the bastard, he donates megabucks to Okla State University. They recently renamed the stadium for him.

[KatyaR]

23. Because of OSU selling its soul to T Boone, I've renounced

all my ties to my beloved alma mater. I don't even check the football scores any more. I couldn't give a rat's ass about that school any more. The whole debacle about the sports complex did it for me. I can't even wear the school colors anymore--it just makes me sick.

OSU used to be a fine place to get an education--now it's finally got all the money it needs to be the competition to OU that it's always wanted to be. What a waste. I'm absolutely heartbroken that the place where I spent the best four years of my life has turned to shit.

[bmbmd]

24. He lost his deal with West Texas A&M University

in Canyon-they wouldn't bow and scrape to his every whim like the OSU guys will. He reneged on a major investment at WT over some alleged slight, took his football (and his money) and ran home to Oklahoma State.

[struggle4progress]

22. Yit anotha lyin Texan mongst the Bush supportas? Soup-rise! Soup-rise!

[pretzel4gore]

25. and it really is great to see the pay off...bush, their dirty secret

they're stuck out in public with it- they're literally jonesing for bush's time to end

[navarth]

26. WTF!!! Kerry should call him on it!!

Why not? Goddam it I wish I could see an escalation here..."Sure Mr. Pickens, I'll release a COPY of my journal to you and the press....and YOU open some of YOUR private records and let's compare". Turn into the fight, for crissakes!

I mean, I personally would be very interested in finding out more about both.

#1 I'd really like to have my faith in Kerry confirmed

#2 I'd really like to have this slimeball Pickens dragged through the mud...he SO deserves it

#3 Kerry was right, we should never have any swift boating again

OF COURSE Pickens will be able to say the video was doctored, that was fiction...but if you don't respond he can go on Fascist News Channel and say 'Hey, Kerry backed down'...you KNOW that's what's going to happen.

And then it all goes away. Am I wrong?

Come on Senator! Don't let the bastard off the hook!

[HuffleClaw]

29. exactly what i said he'd do

the guy never had any intention of honouring the wager. it was a ploy to dig for dirt.

[DFW]

31. If pickens said he'd pay $1 million if Kerry proved 2+2=4, he'd renege

Kerry would just pick up a pocket calculator and show that 2+2=4,
and then Pickens would say he meant in base 3, so 2+2=11.

Pickens would give $100 million to the RNC before he would give $1.50
to paralyzed vets in Kerry's name.

[Leopolds Ghost]

32. Sad that this is happening now...consider all the shit we've seen in the past three years

Kerry's response isn't quite hard-edged enough... sometimes you (certainly, your friends and allies in the media) need to show a little anger. If he had done this particular gentlemanly bit at the time, it wouldn't have made much difference.