OP/ED NYTimes - Washing Away the Mud

[rndmprsn]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/22/opinion/22kris.html?hp

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

What I found most dispiriting over the last month of politicking was the sight of two senior statesmen in the Republican Party - yes, I mean you, George H. W. Bush and Bob Dole - climbing on the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth bandwagon in its campaign to turn Mr. Kerry from war hero to craven braggart.

Both former President Bush and Mr. Dole are honorable. And Mr. Bush has personal knowledge of such smears. The bomber Mr. Bush piloted was shot down in 1944. He bailed out, but the two others in the plane, Ted White and John Delaney, were killed.

Then in the 1988 campaign, a tail-gunner on another plane on the same bombing mission accused Mr. Bush of having been a coward and causing Mr. White's and Mr. Delaney's deaths. A couple of others on the mission backed this accusation, claiming that Mr. Bush could have tried a water landing rather than consigning the others to their deaths.

The accusations were rebutted by other witnesses, however, and journalists mostly shied away from them. Michael Dukakis dismissed the story, and few voters knew about the smear.

[barbaraann]

1. The 1988 story about Bush Sr. is in the Kitty Kelley book.

I posted a thread earlier that I think the Swifty story might be payback for this.

[LittleClarkie]

2. Bush Sr. oughta be slapped for doing that to Kerry

Considering he knows what it's like to have these people come after him

http://www.usvetdsp.com/story46.htm

Thing is, if Kerry is a communist dupe, then the rest of that crap will have to be revived just to show how damn stupid it is. In order to explain how Kerry and McCain could possibly be friends when one is a war protester and possible dirty commie and the other a POW, then McCain has to be the Manchurian Candidate. So insane I can't believe the Swiftees have stooped to going down that road. I wonder how closely linked the two groups are: the Swift Boat Liars for Bush and Rove, and the Vietnam Veterans against John Kerry.

I would bring up the Roy Hoffman/Bob Kerrey link more often, but Bob Kerrey seems like to decent a guy to keep reminding him of a bad past. It was enough for me to figure out why Bob Kerrey came out in support, and why Roy Hoffman hates being called a numbers guy. Truth hurts, eh baby?

I saw my first "Stop Hanoi John" bumpersticker yesterday, right after helping a woman with no fixed address figure out a way she could get registered to vote. Guess who she's voting for. :D

[Cha]

4. ghwb's no account son is up against a Rea Live

Hero! In a fight for his son's political sleazy life.

It's gonna be beyond satisfaction for us to see these murderers go down.

[City Lights]

3. What a sloppy piece of crap.

In the spirit of taking a tough look at one's own shortcomings: on Saturday, I referred to William Rood as a witness for Mr. Kerry's Silver Star incident. It was the Bronze Star episode that he saw. Mea culpa.

Are there no fact checkers at the Times? The incident William Rood witnessed was the Silver Star. Geez. Now Kristoff's going to need to mea culpa his mea culpa.