McCain condemns anti-Kerry ads, calls on White House to follow suit
 

Republican Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, called an ad criticizing John Kerry's military service "dishonest and dishonorable" and urged the White House on Thursday to condemn it as well.

The White House declined.

"It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me," McCain said in an interview with The Associated Press, comparing the anti-Kerry ad to tactics in his bitter Republican primary fight with President Bush.

The 60-second ad features Vietnam veterans who accuse the Democratic presidential nominee of lying about his decorated Vietnam War record and betraying his fellow veterans by later opposing the conflict.

"When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry," one of the veterans, Larry Thurlow, says in the ad. Thurlow didn't serve on Kerry's swiftboat, but says he witnessed the events that led to Kerry winning a Bronze Star and the last of his three Purple Hearts. Kerry's crewmates support the candidate and call him a hero.

The ad, scheduled to air in a few markets in Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin, was produced by Stevens, Reed, Curcio and Potham, the same team that produced McCain's ads in 2000.

"I wish they hadn't done it," McCain said of his former advisers. "I don't know if they knew all the facts."

Asked if the White House knew about the ad or helped find financing for it, McCain said, "I hope not, but I don't know. But I think the Bush campaign should specifically condemn the ad."

McCain, chairman of Bush's campaign in Arizona, later said the Bush campaign has denied any involvement and added, "I can't believe the president would pull such a cheap stunt."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined to condemn the ad. He did denounce the proliferation of spending by independent groups, such as the anti-Kerry veterans organization, that are playing on both sides of the political fence.

"The president thought he got rid of this unregulated soft money when he signed the bipartisan campaign finance reform into law," McClellan said. A chief sponsor of that bill, which Bush initially opposed, was McCain.

In 2000, Bush's supporters sponsored a rumor campaign against McCain in the South Carolina primary, helping Bush win the primary and the nomination. McCain's supporters have never forgiven the Bush team.

McCain said that's all in the past to him, but he's speaking out against the anti-Kerry ad because "it reopens all the old wounds of the Vietnam War, which I spent the last 35 years trying to heal."

"I deplore this kind of politics," McCain said. "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."


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...type=printable

The TV spots from both sides, but particularly the GOP, have been particularly nasty and misleading this election.

I'm unplugging my TV until after November.

That sounds like a good idea to me.

I like McCain. He's probably doing this to gain more appeal for another future presidential bid, but I really enjoy how he doesn't play nicey-nice with the good 'ol boys.

Re: McCain condemns anti-Kerry ads, calls on White House to follow suit
 

One of the veterans in the ad was on the Dick Cavett show after the War WITH Kerry debating him on issues. I think these Veterans have issues with Kerry moreso because HE'S putting his 4 months of service out there like that's his best attribute and campaigning heavily on that, but he doesn't want to talk about the things he said and did after he came back. If we wants to tout his success in the war as his greatest achievement, call GWB all types of names, lie on him and say any and everything you can possibly think of that's negative about him, they should be ready for anything back in return. All's fair in love and politics.

Both sides have crossed the line with their ads.

If anything made me DISlike Kerry...it was criticizing GWB for continuing to read that story to the children on 9/11. That did it for me. He's definitely Scary Kerry! :mad:

I hope you're right. He would have had my vote in 2000 and he'd have it again anytime in the future.

I'm really quite surprised that after all the nasty stuff Bush did to him in 2000 that he's willing to stump for him during the campaign. I suppose it's being the better man.

It's easy to criticize people for something you yourself never experienced.

My thought is that he's just as ambitious as any of the rest. He's just smarter about it and is able to play both sides of the aisle to his favor.

I hope in 2008, Republicans and Democrats are smart enough to vote for someone besides "the annointed one". I hate the feeling in the general election that seems to always creep up that someone we didn't choose in the primaries would have been a far better candidate.

Hell- 4 times Cheney got out of serving, three times for being in college, the fourth because his wife was having a baby.

I imagine a lot of Vietnam vets would have loved the priviledge to remain for a child's birth.

I don't like Cheney much, but what he did was perfectly legal and a lot of young men did it. There were exemptions from the draft for as long as you were in good standing in college, and until late in the Vietnam war, there were exemptions for being a father as well.

Then, when graduation rolled around, we either joined, got drafted, or if your parents had enough political pull, you could jump to the head of the months long waiting list and get into the National Guard. Lots of people did that, too.

EXACTLY!

I'm so glad that McCain said something. It's the EXACT same thing that Bush tried to pull on him and I personally think that he never got over it.

The guys in that ad weren't even in the BOAT with him! I'm going to believe these idiots over guys in the boat with him and the guy who's life he saved? Puh-lease!:rolleyes:

It's not what he did during the war but what he did after.

http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com/

-Rudey

That isn't true. I watched the interview with one of the guys in that ad on MSNBC and he was talking about being in a boat 50 feet from Kerry and that the guy he saved did fall in the water, but no one was shooting at them at the time. The guy who Kerry saved(I really need to find out his name, lol) was on the show as well and I believe him.

So yes they are attacking what he did DURING the war as well.

There are always people attacking everything and most people are not happy with Kerry's actions AFTER the war.

-Rudey

I'm so glad I live in a state where Bush doesn't even try.

Really, we have no ads right now...Kerry and Obama have the biggies locked up.