Reply #3: Rant! Part IV

[ProSense]

The Media and Character Assassination

On the SBVT:

Senator Kerry should have responded to the Swift Boat Veterans more urgently and vigorously. I remember the tremendous free coverage the media allotted these character assassins. By having them appear with the frequency they did, the media in its biased way created the perception that these were credible people who deserved a response. To be fair, They could have ignored the Swift Boat Veterans. They do it all the time:

CBS REJECTS ANTI-BUSH SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL

WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- Viacom's CBS today rejected a request from liberal group MoveOn to air a 30-second anti-President Bush ad during the Super Bowl, saying the spot violated the network's policy against running issue advocacy advertising.

http://www.adage.com/paypoints/buyArticle.cms/login?newsId=39590&auth=

CBS, NBC refuse to run church ad welcoming all
Appealing to gays violates 'hot button' policy, networks say
Steven Winn, Chronicle Arts and Culture Critic

Thursday, December 2, 2004

A new national television commercial promoting the United Church of Christ says that "Jesus didn't turn people away," but two major networks have turned away the ad itself, saying it violates their policy of airing commercials on hot button topics -- such as tolerance toward gays and lesbians.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/12/02/MNG80A523F1.DTL

But with the SBVT ads, Bush and the advertisers appeared to be in charge of policy decisions at networks:

Posted 8/31/2004 10:23 PM Updated 9/1/2004 4:55 PM

Swift Boat group ignores Bush's plea, airs new TV ad
By Mark Memmott, USA TODAY
The Vietnam War veterans who have attacked Sen. John Kerry's account of his military record and his actions as an anti-war protester in the early 1970s released a third television ad Tuesday — and said more are coming.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-08-31-swift-boat-ad_x.htm

Kerry camp calls new ad 'junkyard politics'
Swift Boat Veterans rip visits with N. Vietnamese, Viet Cong
From Phil Hirschkorn
CNN New York Bureau
Thursday, September 23, 2004 Posted: 10:07 PM EDT (0207 GMT)

(CNN) -- The Vietnam veterans group behind a series of commercials attacking Sen. John Kerry's military record has released a new ad comparing him to Jane Fonda for meeting with North Vietnamese and Viet Cong officials during the Vietnam War.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/09/23/swiftboat.ad/

Inappropriate alliances:

Bush adviser quits after appearing in swift boat ad
Kerry has accused group of illegally working with campaign
Monday, August 23, 2004 Posted: 10:49 AM EDT (1449 GMT)
ROANOKE, Virginia (CNN) -- A volunteer adviser has quit President Bush's re-election campaign after appearing in a veterans group's television commercial blasting Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's involvement in the Vietnam-era antiwar movement.

A Bush campaign statement said it did not know that retired Air Force Col. Ken Cordier had appeared in an ad by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The Kerry campaign has accused the group of illegally working with the Bush campaign.

As a so-called 527 group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is barred from coordinating efforts with an election campaign.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/21/edwards.swiftboat/

Bush lawyer who aided boat-ad group resigns
Zachary Coile, Chronicle Washington Bureau

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Washington -- President Bush's top election lawyer resigned from the campaign Wednesday after it was revealed that he also was advising Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group airing TV ads attacking John Kerry's war record and anti- war activism.

In a resignation letter, Benjamin Ginsberg, the top outside counsel for the Bush campaign, said his dual role violated no campaign laws, and he accused the media of a "stunning double standard" for not focusing on lawyers and advisers to Kerry and the Democratic Party who are working for outside groups attacking Bush.

Independent election-law experts said Ginsberg could have violated new rules that bar individuals with a federal campaign or a political party from working with outside groups, known as 527s, if he shared information between the groups. Ginsberg has denied that he shared any information.

Democrats already have filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging illegal coordination between the Bush campaign and the veterans group. But Bush's aides repeatedly have said they had no connection to the group.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/08/26/MNG088EKHC1.DTL

Connecting with voters:

The fallacy that Senator Kerry didn’t connect with voters, now rings hollow. First the descriptions of him as aloof with no substantive proof drove a lot of media reports. Well, the only way to demonstrate the exact opposite is with tangible evidence, including Kerry’s much coveted e-mail lists (which has grown significantly since the election):

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30E10FC39580C758CDDA80994DC404482

Mr. Kerry's confidants pointed to his e-mail list of 2.6 million supporters - which helped him raise more than $249 million, a record for a presidential challenger - as a major asset that Mr. Kerry could harness to project his influence well beyond the Senate chamber, and not just in financial terms. They said one option would be to set up a new organization the way Howard Dean did with his political action group, Democracy for America, after his defeat in the Democratic primaries.

And this:




Oh, and some veterans:

07/31/2004
Crowd hot for Kerry, disillusioned with Bush
BY CHRISTOPHER J. KELLY / STAFF WRITER

It was a day for diehards.

Whether they were dyed-in-the-wool Democrats, determined protesters or curiosity seekers who simply wanted to witness history, the estimated 17,000 people who turned out to see presidential nominee John Kerry in Scranton on Friday all shared one common trait.
Stamina.

Brutal humidity, a savage sun and scarce water ended the day early for some. Those who managed to stick around until the end, however, said it was worth every sweaty, sticky second.

The crowd was thick with veterans, a sign of the rich history of military service in the region and the strong connection Mr. Kerry has established with veterans. Many had high praise for the candidate's service in Vietnam. Most offered harsh criticism of President Bush, who faces lingering questions about his National Guard service.

"I'd like to know where (President) Bush was when he was supposed to be serving," said Neal Shubert, 59, of Bear Creek. The Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient said it was time for a change.

"I know where John Kerry was," Mr. Shubert said. "I want to know where Bush was. I think I've earned the right to know. I think all of us have earned the right to know."

U.S. Navy veteran Jerry Shilan, 65, of Lehman, said he was outraged by the president's appearance in a flight suit as he declared "major combat operations" in Iraq were over last May.

"When I saw that I was so angry," said Mr. Shilan, who said he doubts Mr. Bush completed his required service time in the Guard.

"If he did, why can't he prove it?" Mr. Shilan asked. "They say they inadvertently destroyed his pay records. Please."

There were many first-time voters in the crowd, including Adam Hill, 18, of Eynon. Mr. Hill said his brother, Sgt. Dylan Hill, 25, had recently returned from Iraq after a tour with the army's 101st Airborne Division.

"My brother's going to vote for John Kerry, and so am I," Mr. Hill said.

The crowd, which flowed the length of Washington Avenue between Spruce and Mulberry streets, erupted as a caravan of SUVs and two buses pulled into place behind the stage to speakers blaring Bruce Springsteen's "Land of Hope and Dreams."

They roared for actor Ben Affleck and a host of local, state and national Democrats, including Gov. Ed Rendell. They cheered for Mr. Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and for Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of vice-presidential nominee, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.

But the most raucous applause came when Mr. Kerry took the stage, visibly amazed at the size of the crowd on such a wilting afternoon.

"No wonder they call Scranton 'The Electric City,'" Mr. Kerry said, bringing a roar that would be repeated again and again as he highlighted his plans for what he termed, "taking back America."

After his speech, Mr. Kerry joined Mr. Edwards in shaking hands and signing autographs at the edge of the crowd. Both signed banners for Kathleen Bressi, a Kerry volunteer and kindergarten teacher from Old Forge. It was the pinnacle of what she said was a long, hot day.

"It was absolutely worth it," she said. "I think these guys are going to make it. We need our industry to come home, we need our troops to come home, we need better education. That's why need them."


http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12558035&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6