Kerry Served in Vietnam... and Now It May Haunt Him

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have their new ad out against John Kerry, and it is really rough on Kerry. I'm not sure what the impact will be, especially since the ad is scheduled to get limited airplay.

My opinion... Here's the thing. I hated McCain-Feingold for any number of reasons, and I don't particularly like the so-called 527 groups that are running ads against Bush. I'm sure someone's going to complain about this ad and say it's a dirty smear by the GOP, even though the group itself has no affiliation with the GOP (just like Moveon.org has no affiliation with the Democrats). In the end, all of these independent groups will be financed by money that would have been with the parties. You can't keep cash out of politics.

But what's good for the other side has now become good for the GOP. The press spent tons of time on Bush's National Guard service, and Kerry has made his Vietnam service a main running plank in his campaign. To me, this is a legitimate line of attack on Kerry, if his campaign wants to run on this point (and the DNC struck me as one long testament to Kerry's service in Vietnam). This ad responds to that.

I think it's probably not specific enough, but it calls into question all the laurels Kerry has had thrown his way as a Vietnam war hero. Again, I never believed this was relevant, but it's Kerry's only selling point thus far in his campaign for President. He set himself up to be attacked on it. Is the ad devestating? Probably not, since it's running in August and it's not like the Bush DUI revelation at the last minute in 2000. But Kerry's now going to have to spend time countering charges from his shipmates, rather than just basking in their accolades. It's hard to make your case for President and criticize the incumbent when you need to devote resources to this effort.