Is Swift Boat controversy now backfiring on Bush?

[kerry-is-my-prez]

I've seen two shows on CNN now that seem to be "poking at" Bush. You know how the media builds up something and then "beats it down" and attacks it a week later?

They're now talking about how Bush failed to denounce the Swift Boat ads and that was sending a message.

Tucker Carlson was just saying "I can't believe that now the Bush Camapign is on the defensive for the ads when it turns out that some of the information is true. True - a lot of the information has turned out to be false...."

[bushisanidiot]

1. It Is DEFINITELY Backfiring on Pres. AWOL

because his military "service record" is now being held up in contrast to Sen. Kerry's purple hearts, silver star and bronze star. Every other day another swift boat liar is being exposed as a Rove crony who will do anything to get AWOL 4 more years.. including lying under oath!! The swift boat liars should be tried for TREASON!

[BlueEyedSon]

2. Yes. And for clarity, I think he's a deserter, not AWOL....

[Robin Hood]

9. What's the difference?

nt

[BlueEyedSon]

11. Awol is "30 days or less", deserter is "never going back" to duty

Is President Bush a Deserter?
How the military defines the crime.
By Brendan I. Koerner
Posted Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2004, at 2:59 PM PT

http://slate.msn.com/id/2094496/

[cthrumatrix]

3. FACTS have a way of coming out...which is why awol wants to stop

this ad...it's going to make these GOP liars regret their strategy

[Paradise]

15. you've got it! n/t

[Inland]

4. Yes, and Bush can't extricate himself

Bush could have done both the right thing and looked decisive by denouncing the ad as false. Instead, he tried to straddle the issue by weakly saying that Kerry's service is honorable while refuseing to denounce the ads just because they are false...as Tucker said, he wont' because they are anti Kerry.

Now Bush can't do the right thing because his faked persona is being a straight shooter who never flip flops.

And Kerry is making the Bush desire to take advantage of lies part of the theme of a campaign. When more than half the US believed Saddam was tied to 9/11. or believed WMD had been found, or that they would get a fair share of a tax cut, he let it go, because the lie suited his purpose. Bush is a guy who lets lies work for him. It doens't bother him. He just says, later, it wasn't ME who lied. He has people doing that for him. You need to get a guy like Bush crossexamined under a hot lamp in order to find out the truth, and that's why he rarely does the press.

[Skittles]

5. I think they have made a big mistake

the Swift Boat liars are deeply offensive to all veterans. These hacks are lying to prop up an unelected piece of shit who avoided service in the Guard - not good strategy.

[Karenina]

20. Meanwhile, picking this scab

has many, who have been doing their best IN SPITE OF the lack of support from their government, again curled up in fetal positions reliving horrors, families stressed out... Americans seem to tolerate the cruelty visited upon others. It's coming home to roost. :argh:

[maxsolomon]

6. No, its has performed as designed

the slime is spread, kerry's vietnam record is muddied.

most importantly, media space on run up to the GOP convention has been filled with anything but bush's snarky incompetence, iraq or the economy.

mission accomplished. now to fool the rubes with moderation.

[Vickers]

7. Front page of my paper (Palm Beach Post): "President Bush criticized..."

"...a television commercial Monday that accused John Kerry of inflating his Vietnam War record---more than a week after it stopped running."

Har!

[FighttheFuture]

16. It's also provided Bush a new talking point to kill 527's...

Never mind that most of these are funded by small donations form engaged voters (at least on the left). Of course, noting is said about corporate controlled and funded PACs.

[Claire Beth]

8. I sure hope it is!!! n/t

[dolstein]

10. The soft bigotry of low expectations

According to Tucker Carlson, unlike ever other person, George Bush and his supporters shouldn't be held accountable their lies as long as a few of the things they say are true.

[SnohoDem]

14. What was true?

Aside from the basic facts that they were in Vietnam and Kerry won 5 medals?

I don't know of any scandalous allegation that's been proven to be true.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

12. It must be given the way they want it to disappear from the radar now. nt

[BillZBubb]

13. No, it was a very successful Rovian scheme.

The Repugs got everything they wanted out of it and more. The media played their role exactly as planned.

Bush* is removed enough that it can't be definitively tied to him. Kerry's reputation has been tarnished and it's almost impossible to restore it--even though the whole SwiftScum story was a pack of lies.

This was definitely a tactical win for Bush*.

[Inland]

22. A new theme appears of Bush the Deceiver, the man who won't tell the truth

Bush HAS been tied to the ads, if not in the making, then in the fact he won't denounce them merely because they are false and despicable. Bush looks terrible as he allows others to lie for him and maintains guilt by association. Bush is tied into all the other times that he allowed others to spread lies that helped him, not just in the scat against McCain, but every other policy or campaign issue that existed.

Bush is shown as a man to whom truth is irrelevant. And Kerry is reinforced as the man who went to war, and fought for his men AND the truth.

[leftistagitator]

23. I couldn't disagree with you more.

Less than a quarter of the American public believes this group, that's means even some of the hardest Bush* supporters didn't buy it. Kerry's poll numbers have climbed despite the smear, and now Bush* is on the defensive for running a dirty campaign. This couldn't have gone worse for Bush*, he pulled out his cheapest tactic and it blew up in his face. I thought Kerry was being too weak in the response at first, but he proved me wrong in the masterful way he turned this around on Bush*.

[BillZBubb]

25. I don't think we have polling numbers to back up your statement

The only things I've seen recently are from Zogby. The last California poll didn't look good for Kerry (but it's VERY suspect). Ohio and West Virginia appear to have moved more to Bush*.

Let's wait for all the polls before the Repug convention before we start claiming Kerry is climbing.

[The Magistrate]

26. Not So, Sir

The Annenberg group has done polling specifically on these Bush supporters' smears, and the numbers garnered from the study are as Mr. Agitator above relates them. Only half of Republicans find the charges credible; three fifths of voters at large, and of uncommitted voters, find the charges untrue and offensive.

These smears by Bush supporters, illegally coordinating with the Bush campaign, are doing great damage to the reptile who hoped to profit by this skullduggery, and will continue to do him further damage right up till election day.

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[BillZBubb]

27. Hold on a second there dude!

I also remember polls showing most people thought the "Willie Horton" ad was offensive. But, it worked.

As I said, let's wait for the pre RNC national polls. If you look at sites like electoral-vote.com you'll notice that Kerry's projected electoral vote count has been dropping recently since the Swiftscum appeared.

I hope you are right, but I suspect you are wrong.

[DrFunkenstein]

17. Hey, Some Of It Was True - His Name Really Is John Kerry!

Tucker, you ninny!

[gollygee]

18. I don't know if it's backfiring, but it sure is getting easier to refute

There is so much information out there proving that these guys are lying that it's becoming a joke arguing and debating with kool-aid drinkers about it.

[0rganism]

19. It will backfire only if the press engages in responsible journalism

Today, I watched the CNN anchor do a free ad spot for "Unfit for Command", flashing a picture of the cover on screen, saying it had sold out at B&N and was on backorder, mentioned that John O'Neill and Jerome Corsi were authors, and that O'Neill was one of the SBVFT.

Never mind that Jerome Corsi is a white supremacist freeper, or John O'Neill was Nixon's attack dog back in '72. I happen to think those are important subjects, and should be part of any responsible objective description of the book. But noooooo, we'll just pretend they're normal folks with a legitimate gripe.

As long as the media covers up for the SBVFT, bush will not be harmed.

[zulchzulu]

21. Repugified Freepers are starting to even doubt Chimpy

I'm sure the Dole comment and the debunking of the Swift Boat Sellouts for Chimpy is backfiring even on AM Repug radio shows.

[Inland]

24. When the talking heads resort to supporting the SBV first amendment rights

you know that they are running from the content as hard as they can. Yet, because it never occurs to them to denounce the ads because they are false, they still look like deceivers who are happy to someone lie if it turns to their benefit.