Bush Dismisses Idea That Kerry Lied on Vietnam

[kskiska]

By DAVID E. SANGER and ELISABETH BUMILLER

FARMINGTON, N.M., Aug. 26 - President Bush said on Thursday that he did not believe Senator John Kerry lied about his war record, but he declined to condemn the television commercial paid for by a veterans group alleging that Mr. Kerry came by his war medals dishonestly.

Mr. Bush's comments, in a half-hour interview with The New York Times, undercut a central accusation leveled by the veterans group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, whose unproven attacks on Mr. Kerry have dominated the political debate for more than two weeks.

(snip)

"I understand how Senator Kerry feels - I've been attacked by 527's too,'' he said, adding that he had spoken earlier in the day to Senator John McCain and had agreed to join him in a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to bar the groups.

Mr. Bush also acknowledged for the first time that he made a "miscalculation of what the conditions would be'' in postwar Iraq. But he insisted that the 17-month-long insurgency that has upended the administration's plans for the country was the unintended by-product of a "swift victory'' against Saddam Hussein's military, which fled and then disappeared into the cities, enabling them to mount a rebellion against the American forces far faster than Mr. Bush and his aides had anticipated.

Lots more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/27/politics/campaign/27bush.html?hp

[goforit]

1. Too late now bucko!!!.....You're dirty politics have caught up w/ya!

[nagbacalan]

9. Wish I could share your confidence.

Outside of MSNBC's Keith and Chris, I haven't heard any of the refutations of the not-so-swiftie lies on PBS or the major networks. Esoteric editorial victories (e.g., LA Times) mean nothing to me when I consider that a majority of the public still believe the WMD bit and a goodly number to collaborative cooperation between Saddam and Al Qaeda.

[tuvor]

2. "he declined to condemn the television commercial "

What more needs to be said about bush's character?

About a week ago I posted a question asking what TV character bush reminds DUers of. This time (and it's not the first time) he reminds me of the Fonz in that episode where he was physically incapable of saying he was wrong.

[Inland]

6. Its a lie, but he won't condemn it? Hmmmm.

[moondust]

14. IOW: "Go ahead and tell all the lies you want to boys!"

"As long as I'm the one benefitting from them!"

[Born Free]

22. Maybe we need some good bumper stickers

I don't know, maybe something like:

A Hero seeks the the truth,
A coward hides behind lies


Political Ignorance
Grows Terrorism


or more direct

Smoke the lying coward
bush out of hiding

[skooooo]

3. Kerry's going to end up sticking this on him pretty good..

...I think Kerry is playing his cards right.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

4. Good ol' GW...Failure = Success

We have had the uprising because we won so QUICKLY, it allowed the insurgency to build quicker than we could plan for...MKJ

[Dhalgren]

7. "We succeeded so much that we failed."

"They hated us for our freedoms so much that they have begun to love us. Now, heh,heh, I'll tell ya', that caught us all by surprise!"

"And once they started lovin' us, well, we were screwed - if you know what I mean? Heh, heh"

[Jackpine Radical]

5. What interesting pathology.

[mfritz]

8. Bush makes no sense. Big Surprise!

He says the claims in the ad are not true, and he says he opposes (NOW) all 527, so why won't he condemn the ad?

Of course it's because slandering a war hero HELPS him. He has no honor.

[GOPAgainstGW]

10. Bush-Cheney Don't Know How Bad SmearGate Killed Their Re-election

Bush-Cheney have no idea how bad Smeargate kills their chance for re-election. Just a massive fraud and Bush-GOP-SBVT didn't even try to hide it!

Wait till Oct 1, when this massive fraud is exposed and Bush-Cheney get carpet bombed over this deal.

Trust me, you watch. Everyone in the know is just keeping their powder dry until Oct 1!!!!

-------------
* Beltway and Texas Republicans Against Bush-Cheney ’04, Inc. *
------------

[saracat]

21. Too bad that the average person doesn't even care.

B/C have never tried to hide anything . They didn't hide the theft of the election, they don't even bother to coverup Iraq and the WMD. They don't hide the Plame affair. Don't you get it yet? It doesn't matter to them. We aren't even important enough to lie to! And the media won't report any of this anyway! Who are you kidding?This will not deter them in the least.If Bush has not been impeached for taking the Nation to war on a lie, what makes you think this will even cause a ripple of discontent?

[Zero Gravitas]

11. Bush is a coward

and the Swift Boat Liars are emphasizing that fact as much as they are sowing confusion about Kerry's service.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

12. Talk about NUANCED!

[Kimber Scott]

13. "I've been attacked by 527s, too." But, weren't those attacks the truth?

Big difference.

[zmdem]

16. "Truth" isn't the issue

In politics opinion is king, only God knows The Truth, and He ain't talking. We have the first amendment and assume that the citizenry will judge, as they see fit. Do they get it wrong sometimes ?, sure they do, but it's better than having the government saying who can express what they see as the truth. Isn't that the heart and soul of a free society ?

[The_Casual_Observer]

19. Then it might be my opinion that shouting "fire" in a crowded

theatre is ok, since only god knows the "truth". The "citizenry" in the theatre will make a judgment as to whether or not my claim has any validity as they see fit.

A. Savant.

[zmdem]

20. A judicial decison I guess

The "crowded theatre" argument is well settled. If you yell "fire" and there is indeed a fire, you are OK. If you yell "fire", knowing there is no fire, then you have no first amendment protection. If you yell "fire", and there is no fire, yet you reasonably believed there was a fire, you are also protected.

As to the Swift Boat Vets, who can say what the "Truth" is ? There is no time machine we can use to go back. Sen. Kerry and his "Band of Brothers" say one thing. The SBV's say another. There is no way to determine between them.

For myself, I go by the military record. Sen. Kerry did what the record says he did. Likewise with Pres. Bush re: TANG. Honourable discharges, medals, etc.

Frankly, I'm tired of the Viet-Nam war. We've got more important things on the plate than events from 35 years ago. I wish Sen. Kerry hadn't made this the center piece of his campaign. He should include his service in his bio, but his record in the senate over the last 5-10 years is surely more important.

[zmdem]

15. Great, let's dump the first amendment

Sue to shut down 527's. Only the politicians have a right to air opinions regarding politics.

[unfrigginreal]

17. Stay on top of this people

Mr. Bush did not hesitate when asked about the central charge issued by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the veterans' group that has leveled unsubstantiated attacks against Mr. Kerry's record in Vietnam. "I think Senator Kerry should be proud of his record,'' Mr. Bush said. "No, I don't think he lied.''

They're trying to change the dynamic of the smear. The only candidate to this point that has been labeled a liar(misleading) has been Bush. The thrust of the smears against Kerry have been that he was no hero, that he was undeserving of his medals.

I would love to know the exact question asked to prompt that response from Bush. They needed to deny Kerry was a liar for one reason, to start painting him as a liar.

We can not afford to give ground on the credibility issue...that's our most potent issue against Bush.

[Nordic]

18. Bush: "And I'm sure Kerry doesn't beat his wife anymore"

What an asshole