A veteran who served with John Kerry in Vietnam testifies that the Democrat "risked his life to save mine" in a television ad his presidential campaign rolled out Thursday to counter a spot that claims Kerry lied about his war record. "All these Viet Cong were shooting at me," says Jim Rassmann, who was thrown off of the swift boat Kerry was manning.
SEXIST!!! Personning perhaps, but NOT manning.
"I expected I'd be shot. When he pulled me out of the river, he risked his life to save mine." The 30-second ad argues that the Navy documented Kerry's "heroism and awarded him the Bronze Star but won't release all the records about it or Kerry's service." It also accuses Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which ran commercials in West Virginia, Ohio and Wisconsin, of being funded by President Bush's "big money supporters." The group is funded in part by Houston homebuilder Bob J. Perry, a GOP donor. Kerry aides said the ads would run in the same three states. However, as of early Thursday, the campaign had not bought airtime. By running ads this month, Kerry is deviating from his decision to forgo advertising until September to save money. Spending any now is a risk for Kerry, who must make his $75 million general election government check stretch five weeks longer than Bush, whose spending isn't limited until he accepts his party nomination. However, letting the attacks go unanswered in West Virginia, Ohio and Wisconsin could be even more costly for Kerry. The states are three of the most competitive and are home to socially conservative Democrats. An affiliate of liberal interest group MoveOn.org, which is funded in part by wealthy Democrats whose identities must remain secret, hit back with its own ads criticizing the veterans' claims in the three states. However, with his own ads, Kerry can precisely control the message of a surrogate because he is afraid to speak directly to the charges.
Kerry is taking what ought to be a supporting strength of having served his country and turning it into the central focus of the campaign as a chance for everybody to refight Vietnam. It's starting to get under his skin, if he's ready to spend money on ads in the middle of August. Next the MSM will start to ask questions. This one has legs. |