Swift Boat Veterans

Thanks to CNN's screening it in its entirety this morning, I had the unfortunate opportunity to see the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ad attacking viciously attacking John Kerry. I'm in total agreement with John McCain:

"I deplore this kind of politics. I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable. As it is, none of these individuals served on the boat (Kerry) commanded. Many of his crew have testified to his courage under fire. I think John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam. I think George Bush served honorably in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War."

Well, perhaps it's not total agreement. I'm firmly of the mind that Bush shirked his stateside responsibility to the National Guard during the Vietnam War, kept out of the line of fire in the first place by his father's wealth, power, and network of connections, but that's another story altogether. Despite his false claims to the contrary ("I've been to war. I've raised twins. If I had a choice, I'd rather go to war."), the man has not in fact ever been to war.

Then again, that last sentence, as with some of McCain's other statements today, could be taken as having a variety of implied meanings. For what it's worth, it seems clear to me that Sen. McCain is angry. The sort of anger that only comes with bitter remembrance.

"It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me," McCain told The Associated Press, referring to his bitter Republican primary fight with President Bush.

The Kerry camp hit the nail on the head with their response:

The Kerry campaign also accused the Swift Boat group of having political ties to the Republican Party.

"Far from being a grassroots organization of veterans, this group is a front for the right-wing Texas Republicans to try and take away one of John Kerry’s political strengths — his service to the country in Vietnam," the campaign charged in a 36-page document given to reporters.

In any case, Joe Conason has a good rundown on the folks behind this attack, who they are, their history. They're quite a cast of characters. Media Matters takes another tack and reveals some pretty interesting truths about the coauthor of the SBVfT print attack on Kerry.

In a nutshell, for anyone to give this group any credence at all is simply laughable. For the news media to play and replay this ad, over and again, giving this group and their attacks on John Kerry more exposure than they could have hoped to achieve otherwise is despicable. Par for the course, absolutely, and completely lacking in surprise, but despicable nonetheless.