"It's a pack of f---ing lies, what they're saying about me!"

[Pepperbelly]

-snip-

Kerry Anger Over Swift Boat Ads. By August, the attack of the Swift Boat veterans was getting to Kerry. He called adviser Tad Devine, who was prepping to appear on "Meet The Press" the next day: "It's a pack of f---ing lies, what they're saying about me," he fairly shouted over the phone. Kerry blamed his advisers for his predicament. (Cahill and Shrum argued responding to the ads would only dignify them.) He had wanted to fight back; they had counseled caution. Even Kerry's ex-wife, Julia Thorne, was very upset about the ads, she told daughter Vanessa. She could remember how Kerry had suffered in Vietnam; she had seen the scars on his body, heard him cry out at night in his nightmares. She was so agitated about the unfairness of the Swift Boat assault that she told Vanessa she was ready to break her silence, to speak out and personally answer the Swift Boat charges. She changed her mind only when she was reassured that the campaign was about to start fighting back hard.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041104/nyth186_1.html

[deadparrot]

1. I'd be pissed, too...

especially if those rumors were perpetuated by a spoiled frat boy who went AWOL.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Those ads dishonored all Viet Nam vets

especially those who were members of Viet Nam Vets Against War. That's what my neighbor says, and he joined VNVAW when he got back from his tour of duty.

[TahitiNut]

11. Amen. I couldn't possibly express how beslimed I felt.

Not only because Kerry was slandered, but because fellow Vietnam Vets sold their souls and LIED. Their betrayal of truth and integrity dishonors all of us, merely by association ... just like when we "came home" and were treated with disdain, or worse.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. But Ohhhhhhhh...

There is more to that story. What happened next. Between him and a certain DNC chairman...

[PretzelzRule]

4. Do tell......n/t

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. Well, it wasn't pretty.

But a very tall person was very clear about what he expected at this time, and what the consequences would be, immediately, if he did not get what he expected.

Thus, a new-found willingness to speak out and loosen purse-strings.

[lutherj]

5. Kerry should sue for defamation of character, just like Goldwater did. nt

[Taverner]

7. Read the article re:"No Talking Points"

It shows an amazing amount of character, but it was a fatal move.

Sigh...why do the good guys ALWAYS lose?

[SoCalDem]

8. Too bad Kerry did not say it himself

The poeople who hated him would not suddenly support him, but for the ones on the fence, the GUT REACTION from HIM could have made a difference..

GUT reactions are usually RIGHT..

[yardwork]

9. I've had it with Shrum. He's a perennial loser and his ego is huge.

He makes enormous amounts of money helping Democratic presidents for president lose!! How could Cahill and Shrum not have understood how damaging the swift boat liars were to Kerry?

We need Democratic political advisers who understand the severity of this war we are fighting. The other side fights dirty. They are scum. We have to fight back.

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. Shit boaters have denigrated and cast doubt on every single

military honor ever awarded to anyone in history as far as I'm concerned. I was amazed how easy it was for these shits to cast lasting suspicion on the official record of Kerry's service packaged in the form of televised advertising and "news programs". This wasn't just small time editorializing or opinion, these were accusations of what amounted to a government conspiracy to inflate Kerry's military record to allow him an early release from the military. These were very serious charges, none of which were addressed or disputed by the government.

[orwell]

12. Fighters Fight Back

This was the most glaring error of the campaign. To be honest, if John Kerry wasn't ready to take charge and overrule Cahill and Shrum, he has only himself to blame. Sometimes you have to fight instead of "strategerize."

When he failed to come out blasting against these pricks, he inadvertantly reinforced the meme that the Cons were pushing that he wouldn't defend the country.

That impression is more important than the reality that he did defend the country.

It may have been fatal to his chances.

I agree with the Shrum observation. He is very weak.

[Pepperbelly]

13. He should've said in public what he said in private.

The people it would have offended wouldn't have voted for him anyway and the rest would've been amused and would have liked him for it.