a group of Vietnam veterans has bought television time in three swing states for an advertisement that attacks Senator John Kerry, accusing him of lying about his war record, including the circumstances surrounding his medals, and betraying his comrades by later opposing the war.
"When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry," one of the veterans, Larry Thurlow, says in the 60-second advertisement, scheduled to begin running today in scattered markets in Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconson. Robert G. Elder, like Mr. Kerry a Navy lieutenant who commanded a Swift boat, declares, "John Kerry is no war hero," and Robert Hildreth, who held a similar post, intones, "John Kerry cannot be trusted."
The Kerry campaign immediately denounced the group, noting that none of the men had actually served on the Swift boats that Mr. Kerry commanded, like Gene Thorson, who told reporters, "These assertions are garbage; these people weren't there with John Kerry."
The advertisement, which layers snippets from recent interviews with a dozen veterans over familiar black-and-white photographs of Mr. Kerry and his men in uniform, is the latest tactic of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a 200-member group that held a news conference in Washington this spring to make similar accusations. It is one of several independent groups, known as 527's for the provision in the tax code that enables their operation, to run attack advertisements this season.
OF PARTICULAR INTEREST
Tax documents show that from April to June, the group collected $158,750 from 11 people, $100,000 of it from Bob J. Perry, a Houston developer who is a major contributor to Republican campaigns.
Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for the Bush campaign, said he had not seen the advertisement and tried to distance the president from it.
"The Bush-Cheney campaign has never and will never question John Kerry's service during Vietnam," Mr. Schmidt said. "The election will not be about the past, it will be about the future."
OF PARTICULAR INTREST
Mr. Kerry's aides circulated an 18-page packet discrediting the veterans group and linking its
backers to Republicans, noting that a public-relations consultant the group paid $27,000 this spring, Merrie Spaeth, was also involved in a advertising campaign attacking Senator John McCain during his tough race against Mr. Bush in the 2000 primary in South Carolina. The Kerry campaign also convened a conference call in which two of Mr. Kerry's crewmates, and a man he pulled from the Mekong River, defended his service.
"The fact is, John Kerry risked his life to save the lives of others,'' said Chad Clanton, a spokesman for the Kerry campaign.
Adm. Roy F. Hoffman, who is retired and who says in the advertisement, "John Kerry has not been honest," acknowledged that the men in the advertisement did not serve on Mr. Kerry's boat, but he said their time in parallel boats on coordinated missions, or as Mr. Kerry's superiors, made them valid commentators on his record. The group provided station managers with a 13-page memorandum, backed up by more than 60 pages of sworn statements, book excerpts and military records.
"We were on the same operations, we were operating within 25-50 yards of him all the time, and for them to suggest we don't know John Kerry is pure old bull," Mr. Hoffman said. "He has made this the centerpiece of this campaign, and we just don't think he's qualified to be the commander in chief of the armed forces. We have every right to be heard."
Produced by Stevens, Reed, Curcio & Potham, a Republican firm based in Alexandria, Va., the
advertisement tees off with Mr. Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, saying that the best way to understand Mr. Kerry is to "spend three minutes with the men who served with him." Then the anti-Kerry veterans speak one by one:
"John Kerry lied to get his Bronze Star," says one, Van O'Dell. "I know. I was there. I saw what happened."
Another, Jack Chenoweth, says, "His account of what happened and what actually happened are the difference between night and day." Adrian L. Lonsdale, one of Mr. Kerry's superiors in Vietnam, says Mr. Kerry "lacks the capacity to lead," Shelton White, a Swift boat commander, says he "betrayed the men and women he served with in Vietnam," and Joseph L. Ponder adds,
"He dishonored his country, he most certainly did."
A doctor, Louis Letson, repeats accusations he made in newspaper interviews this spring that Mr. Kerry did not deserve his first Purple Heart because his wounds resulted from a ricochet off friendly fire, saying in the advertisement, "I know John Kerry is lying about his first Purple Heart because I treated him for that injury." The Kerry campaign pointed out yesterday, as it had previously, that another doctor, J. C. Carreon, signed Mr. Kerry's treatment record.
Mr. Hoffman said the group was spending $500,000 to run the advertisement but would not say how long it would be on the air; a Kerry aide said the buy was far smaller, $156,000 in seven smallish markets like Green Bay, Wis., and Toledo, Ohio, suggesting it was a "vanity buy'' intended to attract news coverage.
I'LL BET BUSH DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE WHISPERING CAMPAIGN TO DISCREDIT McCAIN. I GUESS BUSH DOESN'T KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT MANY THINGS.
