SMEARING KERRY'S
MILITARY RECORD
Two from Eschaton

First an enlightening essay from the Los Angeles Times editorial board that calls the heavily Bush-connected organization, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, straight up liars:

These Charges Are False ...

In both cases, the candidates are the reason the groups are in business. There is an important difference, though, between the side campaign being run for Kerry and the one for Bush. The pro-Kerry campaign is nasty and personal. The pro-Bush campaign is nasty, personal and false.

No informed person can seriously believe that Kerry fabricated evidence to win his military medals in Vietnam. His main accuser has been exposed as having said the opposite at the time, 35 years ago. Kerry is backed by almost all those who witnessed the events in question, as well as by documentation. His accusers have no evidence except their own dubious word.

Click here for the rest.

Switching coasts, Paul Krugman of the New York Times ponders how these liars are pulling off such brazen lies:

The Rambo Coalition

One of the wonders of recent American politics has been the ability of Mr. Bush and his supporters to wrap their partisanship in the flag. Through innuendo and direct attacks by surrogates, men who assiduously avoided service in Vietnam, like Dick Cheney (five deferments), John Ashcroft (seven deferments) and George Bush (a comfy spot in the National Guard, and a mysterious gap in his records), have questioned the patriotism of men who risked their lives and suffered for their country: John McCain, Max Cleland and now John Kerry.

How have they been able to get away with it? The answer is that we have been living in what Roger Ebert calls "an age of Rambo patriotism." As the carnage and moral ambiguities of Vietnam faded from memory, many started to believe in the comforting clichés of action movies, in which the tough-talking hero is always virtuous and the hand-wringing types who see complexities and urge the hero to think before acting are always wrong, if not villains.

After 9/11, Mr. Bush had a choice: he could deal with real threats, or he could play Rambo.

Click here for the rest.

Have I mentioned that if the Kerry campaign is able to prove links between the Bush campaign and the Swift Boat liars, all hell could break loose? The Swift Boat Veterans are a 527 political organization, which can receive unlimited donations: under the new campaign finance laws, such groups can only advocate issues, but not candidates--that's why lots of money that can no longer be given to candidates is being given to 527s on both sides. The catch is that campaigns can't have anything to do with these organizations; that would violate the law. Only a couple of days ago, the Kerry campaign said they have proof that Bush and the Swift Boat liars are working together, and I certainly wouldn't be surprised if it was true. Here's hoping...

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