United States President George Bush stepped into the row over his presidential opponent’s war record on Monday, declaring John Kerry had served ”admirably” in Vietnam and calling for an end to all political attack advertisements sponsored by non-party groups.
The president made clear that his appeal included a rightwing group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which has broadcast adverts accusing Senator Kerry of lying about his combat experience and falsifying his medal citations.
But the Kerry campaign said the president’s intervention fell short of the clear denunciation it had demanded. Democrats said the president’s remarks treated the veterans’ claims as no worse than other attack ads by supposedly independent groups, questioning the group’s source of finance rather than the substance of the ads, which they reject as a smear.
Kerry’s running mate, John Edwards, said: ”The moment of truth came and went, and the president still couldn’t bring himself to do the right thing. Instead of hiding behind a front group, George Bush needs to take responsibility and demand that the ad come off the air.”
At the weekend, Bob Dole, a former senator and Republican presidential candidate, suggested Kerry had escaped the war by securing three Purple Heart medals for ”superficial wounds”.
As polls began to suggest that the charges were beginning to damage Kerry’s presidential chances, his campaign headquarters hit back, screening an advertisement accusing the Bush campaign of masterminding the veterans’ campaign.
The Kerry camp also organised for other veterans who had served with him to give their accounts. ”He deserved every one of his medals,” said Del Sandusky, who piloted Kerry’s Swift boat (a 15-metre aluminium patrol craft) for nearly three months in the Mekong delta.
Another former navy veteran, Jim Baker, told journalists: ”He was the most aggressive officer in charge of Swift boats.”
Bush was intensively questioned by reporters on the issue as he emerged from a military strategy meeting at his Texas holiday home in Crawford. ”I think Senator Kerry served admirably and he ought to be proud of his record,” he said.
”But the question is who is best to lead the country in the war on terror?”
He said the real issue at stake was the role of groups who are allowed to spend unlimited sums of money on advertising as long as they do not coordinate their efforts with the political parties. They are known as ”527 groups”, after a loophole clause in the campaign finance laws.
Liberal groups were the first to take advantage of the loophole, in an attempt to make up for the Republican party’s edge in raising funds.
The president challenged Kerry to join him in denouncing all adverts by 527 groups. ”I thought we were going to once and for all get rid of a system where people could just pour tons of money and not be held to account,” Bush said.
Asked specifically if he included the Swift Boat Veterans advertisement in his condemnation, the president replied: ”That means that ad, every other ad.”
The Kerry campaign has taken its claims that the Bush camp is behind the Swift Boat Veterans to the federal election commission, arguing that the Republicans are illegally coordinating the veterans’ efforts. It claims that Bush campaign workers were found handing out flyers about the veterans. – Guardian Unlimited Â