Why has the campaign bogged down into Kerry's Vietnam service?

[Cobia]

Why are the wingnuts so obessed with Kerry's military record?

Kerry needs to just focus ahead on how he is going to save the country from Bush.

Vietnam was over 30 years ago.

[genius]

1. Because Kerry doesn't know how to fight. The election is war

He can't go soft on Bush.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

13. I disagree that Kerry doesn't know how to fight. He would have been out

of the race a long time ago, either defeated early in the primaries or smeared out early in this race, if he were not a fighter. Everything in his life story from his youth through his political career shows he's nothing if not a fighter, and the type of candidate we need.

That's one man's opinion.

[grasswire]

2. see my thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=638745&mesg_id=638745

Every day the nation talks about Vietnam is a day they don't talk about Bush's blunder -- Iraq.

[Cobia]

4. You make an excellent point

While they talk about a quagmire from 30 years ago, our troops die in Bush's illegal quagmire now.

[vi5]

3. Because the media has let it be....

There's no way this should be getting as much traction as it has. As was mentioned elsewhere, this was a vanity book and a vanity ad buy that has generated way more coverage than it should have given the complete defecit of facts and the nature of the people involved. This should have been laughed out of newsrooms and there's no reason to think in a reasonable, normal world that it wouldn't have been.

Of course we live in a world where republicans claim a monopoly on the military/veterans vote, and where the republicans control the media spin, so put two and two together and that's all they have to run on, but at the same time, they dictate the terms of debate.

To pin any of this on the DNC or the DLC or Kerry is misdirected.

[Cobia]

5. I'm not pinning it on Kerry

I am just outraged that the wingnuts keep attacking his service.

What he did there is past history.

Let's focus on the present and future.

[LittleApple81]

7. Actually, it is useful for the repugs to do this, and the media cooperates

This should not even have been discussed. It would have died a quick death. But they have gotten more airtime from the Media than from paid ad time.

[Old and In the Way]

6. Here's a thought.

If it's this bad with Kerry, can you imagine how they'd be covering our other primary candidates? We picked the strongest candidate to fight the Republican Corporate Media machine.....I can only imagine how they'd be slicing and dicing any other Democrats.

[KC21304]

8. I think Kerry is going to win this round. The Swiftvets are

self distructing. Look for front page story in NYT tomorrow. Yes I got this from Drudge, but I think he has the right info on this.

[TaleWgnDg]

11. I sure hope that the NYTimes . . .

journalistic endeavors in writing about Kerry's "history" are better than were the Boston Globe's endeavors regarding same. After all, the Boston Globe is now owned by the NYTimes. Thus, does the fruit fall very far from the tree? Dunno . . . we shall "see," as the saying goes . . . O8)

[KC21304]

18. Here it is. It blows the Swiftliars out of the water.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/politics/campaign/20swift.html

[TaleWgnDg]

9. lookit. tis simple . . .

1.) this crap helps sell a book,
2.) this crap deflects away from many important issues that GWBush doesn't want to face,
3.) this crap may return GWBush to the whitehouse, and
4.) this crap helps sell an old Nam vet's personal angst (however misguided and misdirected) against Kerry, and
5.) and, oh, did I mention? this crap helps sell a book = money.

edited to add this url: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/index.html (Tom Oliphant goes head-to-toe w/ the guy fronting the selling of this crap)

[JohnnyRingo]

10. Karl Rove is the master at this...Throw as many false accusations at

your enemy as possible. Keep them defending themselves instead of running a campaign.

Remember the same thing against McCain and Gore in '99 ?

[TaleWgnDg]

12. . . . yup . . . n/t

[TaleWgnDg]

17. yup, "good" ole Karl Rove . . . a mud slinger from . . .

waaaaaaaaaay back. Just as you said. Toss as much sleazy mud as you can and wait for one or some to stick. Aren't the odds in your favor? Folks believe what they hear if it's repeated often enough, after all.

Fantastic what the G.O.P. (God's Own Party) has lowered itself to become. "I wonder what Jesus would do?" (using that fundie saying as parody)!

[bigtree]

14. This is the fifth line of attack TODAY from the Kerry camp.

There are the responses to the swiftliars
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?ReleaseID...
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?ReleaseID...
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?ReleaseID...

then there were statements on:

-prescriptions- "Americans Could Have Discount Prescription Prices From Canada Tomorrow if George W. Bush Would Give the Word; Bush Should Stop Tap Dancing and Support the Bipartisan Legislation"
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?ReleaseID...

-Zell Miller Keynoting the GOP Convention
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?ReleaseID...

-Cheney and Bush Were For A Strong Presence on the Korean Peninsula Before They Were Against It, Says Kerry Campaign
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?ReleaseID...

-Kerry Outlines Health Care Plan to Bring Down Costs for Families, Strengthen the Economy, Create Jobs; Report Shows Skyrocketing Health Costs Have Led to Job Loss
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?ReleaseID...

[Nay]

15. Also, it is the same "muddy the waters" tactic that the Bush camp

always uses. If they can attack Kerry's service, even with blatant lies, some of the dumb undecideds will feel that there must have been something wrong with Kerry's service, and thus be deflected from thinking about Bush's total LACK of service. Or, if forced to face Bush's lack of service, the undecided can point to "problems" with Kerry's service, and justify to himself a vote for Bush.

[Seabiscuit]

16. Because:

1. They can't defend their own policies, so they have to go on the attack;

2. To distract Americans from the economy, Iraq, and Dubya's AWOL, etc., they use a known group of wacko Vietnam wingnuts who did a job for Bush on McCain in 2000 and Cleland in 2002 to do their dirtywork, thus putting Kerry on the defensive about a totally irrelevant issue.

3. They trot out their press spokesman to falsely claim that Kerry's attacks in response are "false" - that Bush has already denounced such(*bullshit generalization) ads. Yet what Kerry said in his (finally!!!) retort was that Bush has never "denounced" *this* (SmearBoat Vet) ad. That's 100% true, and Bush's press secretary is dissmebling by nonresponsive evasion and distraction. Bush has never "denounced" the Smearboat Vet ad. Of course, this doesn't get much play in the media - just a quick snippet of the press secretary's accusation towards Kerry, as if it were a direct contradiction.

[southlandshari]

19. Yes! And while we are at it,

Why are there those who claim that, although "Kerry is a man of great character and integrity," they are only voting for Kerry because they hate Bush?

Baffling.