Desperate Measures for a Desperate Man

Today the NYT carried an article by Kate Zernike and Jim Rutenberg entitled "Friendly Fire: The Birth of an Anti-Kerry Ad." Just yesterday, August 19th, John Kerry came on strong, calling the accusations about his Vietnam service record categorically false and, more importantly said that the people behind these accusations were all in some major way connected with the Bush machine.

The recent ad, the one everyone is talking about this week, was an attempt by the group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (a strange name for a group dedicated to lies or innuendo) to discredit Mr. Kerry's war record and ultimately damage him enough to secure Bush for another disastrous four years. These men I believe are still suffering from the devastating effects of war. They have toxic anger which impedes their ability to see the difference between Kerry's opposition to war and the actual job of doing the war. They can't see it, then or now. To them, Kerry is cheapening their sacrifice.

However, I don't believe this is the real issue. Of course, it isn't. It is a tactic of Bush supporters with lots of money to draw Kerry into a pointless debate which no one can win, and thereby pulling him off course. It has nothing to do with Kerry's Vietnam medals. How could it? Bush has no medals at all, and his military record really is questionable in comparison. So it would not behoove the Bush campaign to take this issue on based on true merit.

An even bigger issue for me is this: Do we at this juncture really need to hash over this subject? As far as I'm concerned, the qualifications Kerry has for the presidency transcend his military experience. But I am aware that for many people this could become a stumbling block. So for that reason this needs to be addressed head on which Kerry seems to be very capable of doing.

All the astounding connections and monies that have been given to Bush are charted in the NYT. What a convoluted web of destruction! It's all there for us to see. The facts do not support the allegations. Unfortunately, I think this group of war veterans, for whom I have sympathy because they were emotionally wounded by war, is being taken advantage of by the Bush people who see them as a means of winning an otherwise futile campaign. Bush has nothing to run on, so Karl Rove has to devise every despicable tactic he can think of, and he is good at that, as we all know. The Swift Boat group is doing the dirty work for Bush, perhaps unwittingly. Bush can get his flimsy message out without actually saying a word.

I watched the Dick Cavitt Show on the CNN website this week, the one which featured the debate between John O'Neill (recruited by the Nixon administration) and John Kerry in 1971. Kerry was in complete control of himself, seemed remarkably comfortable in his skin, and took the abuse from O'Neill in a very graceful manner. O'Neill poured out buckets of hate and self-righteousness aimed at Kerry. He would have reduced a lesser man to tatters. I was impressed with John Kerry. I think he showed presidential character back then.

So the issues of the economy, healthcare, foreign policy, veterans and military affairs, education, and the environment must be put on hold while we take this little detour. I hope we get back to the real campaign soon. I hope Bush does not succeed in this ploy. The emperor has no clothes and nothing to run on. The choir knows this, and you are probably in the choir. So we can all agree that, to those who see through this, this will not work. But we do have to have a healthy respect for the uninformed citizen for whom this will possibly make a difference in his or her vote.