President Bush on Monday said TV ads that question Sen. John Kerry’s military service should be stopped, along with those run by other outside groups, but Democrats contended he did not go far enough and said he should demand that the controversial commercials attacking Kerry be taken off the air.
Speaking to reporters at his Texas ranch after a meeting on the nation’s defense priorities, Bush for the first time specifically addressed the commercials aired by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which has strong GOP fundraising ties. The group’s ads attack Kerry’s service in Vietnam and his anti-war activities after returning home as a decorated veteran.
While Bush again said Kerry served “admirably” in the military and “ought to be proud of his record,” the president did not denounce the swift boat ads for their content. Instead, he said those ads and other activities by so-called 527 groups, which can accept unlimited amounts of money to promote political agendas, should be stopped in the interests of campaign finance reform.
The Bush campaign has contended that it has been targeted by $63 million worth of attack advertising by groups supporting Kerry. Those ads have helped supplement Kerry’s campaign, which is now limited to spending the $75 million in public financing it received after the Massachusetts senator accepted the presidential nomination at the recent Democratic National Convention.
The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth had spent about $452,000 on advertising in Ohio, Wisconsin and West Virginia through Saturday, according to the political ad-tracking TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG.
Kerry made no public statements Monday, preparing for a speech Tuesday that is expected to criticize the Bush campaign for negativity. Kerry’s running mate, Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), said Bush failed “to take responsibility and demand that the ad come off the air.”
Bush’s remarks and Kerry’s planned criticism of the Bush campaign may extend for several more days, a battle rooted in controversy over a war fought more than three decades ago.
While both campaigns have tried to move forward to some degree with discussion of current issues, Kerry also has been forced to try to deflect the negativity of the swift boat ads. The intense criticism of his military record has come after he promoted that record during the Democratic convention.
Democrats optimistic
While Democrats acknowledge that Kerry’s support has been dented by the swift boat attack ads, they also believe the campaign can turn things around by demonstrating a pattern of negative campaigning by Bush forces. That is the focus of the Kerry campaign’s latest TV ad, contending Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) dealt with similar “smears” about his war record during the 2000 GOP presidential primary season.
Kerry’s campaign has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission charging that the Bush campaign has illegal ties to the swift boat group. The Bush campaign has denied any ties between itself and the group, which would be illegal, and had previously filed a complaint alleging collusion between the Kerry campaign and people affiliated with Democratic-aligned groups. The Kerry campaign also has denied any illegal coordination.
Asked by reporters if he was calling for an end to the swift boat ad, Bush responded: “All of them. That means that ad, every other ad, absolutely. I don’t think we ought to have 527s.”
For weeks, Bush has said he believed campaign finance reform legislation he signed into law two years ago would have “gotten rid of” the groups, which are called 527s because they are covered under that section of the federal revenue code.But a co-sponsor of the campaign reform law, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), said “the president knew” the measure would not affect 527 groups.
The founder of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, retired Adm. Roy Hoffmann, said the group had no ties to the Bush campaign and planned to continue airing its message.
The Kerry campaign, meanwhile, held a conference call with three swift boat veterans who were stationed with the candidate in Vietnam.
Rich Baker of Pittsburgh, Rich McCann of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and Jim Russell of Telluride, Colo., said they came forward because they were disturbed that some of the same men who honored Kerry for meritorious service, and later supported him for the Senate, were now attacking him in his run for the presidency.
`Lucky to be alive today’
“John Kerry is lucky to be alive today. The fourth Purple Heart could have been an AK-47 [round] through his heart,” said Baker, referring to the three Purple Hearts that Kerry was awarded for Vietnam injuries.
Russell said he was in An Thoi on March 13, 1969, when Army Special Forces Lt. Jim Rassmann was thrown from his boat. Russell said he witnessed Rassmann, while under fire, being rescued by Kerry, who earned the Bronze Star for his actions.
The three veterans were critical of remarks that Bob Dole, a former senator and Republican presidential nominee, made Sunday on CNN. Dole, echoing some of the attacks by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, said Kerry’s war wounds were “superficial.”
On Monday, Dole said on CNN that he received a phone call from a “disappointed” Kerry.
“I wasn’t trying to be mean-spirited,” Dole said he told Kerry. “I was just trying to say all these guys on the other side just can’t be Republican liars. Maybe there’s some truth.”
Dole, a World War II veteran whose right arm was disabled by Nazi gunfire in Italy, said the Bush campaign did not encourage him to criticize Kerry.
Dole said he wanted Kerry’s supporters to stop casting doubt on the actions of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney during the Vietnam War. Bush served in the Texas Air National Guard, and some Democrats have accused him of being absent without leave. Cheney, who got five deferments and did not serve in the military, was labeled a coward by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) last week.
