Newsweek: New Hostile Fire (SBVT attacks against Kerry)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5783805/site/newsweek/

At first the Kerry campaign dismissed them as cranks. But with their slickly made ad and frequent appearances on cable TV and talk radio, charging that Kerry had lied to win his medals in Vietnam, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth began making inroads. According to a poll taken by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Center, more than half the people surveyed had seen or heard about the ad, and about half of independent voters found the ad to be believable. Kerry's campaign fired up his own veterans' machine to try to stop any slippage—especially in key swing states like Ohio, where there are 1.1 million vets.

No wonder Kerry has lashed out, accusing President Bush of using a "front group" to do his "dirty work." According to campaign aides, Kerry himself chose the words to denounce Bush. Kerry became particularly outraged, aides say, when he read that Bob Perry, a friend of Bush senior adviser Karl Rove, was doubling his $100,000 contribution to the Swift Boat vets to buy another ad. The Bush campaign denied any involvement with the Swift Boat vets, and Bush ignored Kerry's demand that he disavow their scurrilous attacks.

[Democat]

1. Kerry waited way too long to respond - over 50% of American saw the ad!

This was a major tactical error on the part of the Kerry campaign. It is pretty obvious. Anyone who thinks they were waiting as part of a strategy after looking at the recent polls and the comments about Kerry getting angry about Perry putting in money for more ads in this article is in denial. They were not planning to respond forcefully, until they saw the polls and realized they had to.

Kerry should not be waiting for polls. By the time you see them, the damage is done.

Kerry cannot let this happen again in this campaign. Bill Clinton practically drew him a map during his appearance on the Daily Show, and still we got no rapid response.

It's good to see Kerry finally fighting back, but the lesson had better be learned now, or we will all pay.

[slor]

2. I did agree with that sentiment, until...

I saw Laurence O'Donnell on the intern killing scarborough Thursday night. Read the transcripts, he provides a good analysis as to how Kerry played this quite effectively.

[bushwakker]

3. Only time will tell but I agree with Democat

These folks should not have been dismissed as cranks - even though they are. I think these charges are so completely false that Kerry himself figured there was no way it would go beyond a one day story. What the Kerry campaign is getting is a lesson in RW media control although why they would need one is beyond me.

[luaneryder]

4. The Swiftie liars are being

exposed one by one for what they are. I feel like the Senator played this one right because he knew their story was bogus and let them drown themselves in their own swill.

[calico1]

5. I hope you are right.

This whole thing has me so disgusted.

[bushwakker]

9. The Kerry camp has all but admitted

they were caught off guard. Where have these people been? Sometimes I think that Dems in DC are "too close" to the situtaion to see the media portrayal that is shovelled to the masses all day every day. I expect the absolute worst from the GOP and am rarely disapponted. After years of studiouslt watching politics I know what the GOP is going to do before they do it. The Kerry camp should have been ready.

[KharmaTrain]

6. The Surrogates Were Late, Not Kerry...

Imagine the crap Kerry would have gotten if he had gone after these slime at the git-go. The media would immediately say that since Kerry was fighting he had something to hide. Also out would be adjectives like "mean-spirited", "wild", "out of control"...and so on (the memes the Rove drones are trying to pin on him now that he has spoken out...words that are gaining zero traction).

This was where we needed Max Cleland and other veterans to step forward and lead this battle...to expose these assholes for the frauds we knew and everyone else now knows they are...and for the insult this places on ALL Vietnam vets, not just one. They didn't. For a week all the Kerry surrogates did was tried to laugh off these slimers and that gave O'Neill the green light to rachet it up.

While the wingnuts won't let this one go, my bets are Rove is ready to dump this campaign like a hot rock now...he probably was last week when he saw polls that saw damage was done, and to move to the next slime. Just one problem this time...we got his fingers all over a dirty trick and Kerry and the rest of us won't let this one go.

While I'd love to see this Freeperboat episode end and focus back on the real issues, a little more time exposing the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" wouldn't hurt and could neutralize any future "bombshells" Mr. Rove and his ilk were ready to launch.

[olddem43]

7. When is the media going to call BULLSHIT?

They continue to treat this like a story, or a controversy, or something worthy of having these liars on all the talking heads shows spewing their garbage, but none have come out and said this is a bunch of garbage and we aren't going to give it credence by even discussing it.

[sallyseven]

8. Well they have one of their own

Mr. Rood of the Chicago Tribune debunking the swift boat jerks. He was there and told his story and it was all over tv last night. They have gotten caught with stuff in the repuk headquarters. That is all over the place. Relax Kerry is very smart and don't believe what the press says about what is going on in the campaign of John Kerry. He is a closer.