SwiftVets.com

[integritycounts]

In what could be the biggest mistake of all the election year....Kerry did not realize that sometmes when you pay people to watch stuff and then ask them question (ie a focus group) Sometimes they just tell you what you want to hear. DOH!
--------------------------------------


http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040920-695823,00.html
More damaging was Kerry's nonresponse to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, who over the summer accused Kerry of misrepresenting his military record in a series of television ads. The Swifties' initial charges were reckless and unfair, but the Kerry camp's political instincts were almost worse. The campaign did ... nothing.

Incredibly, it felt the need to conduct focus groups to decide whether to respond to the veterans and, more incredibly, concluded that the public would be turned off if it did. So Kerry tried to ignore the whole thing, making two costly errors at once: he allowed a political attack to go unanswered, and he signaled to Americans that he wouldn't lift a finger to defend himself. In an election year that at bottom is about who can best defend the homeland, Kerry's refusal to strike back hard and fast when his own hide was on the line was a startling misreading of what voters are looking for in a leader after 9/11. Realizing the gravity of their error, Kerry's aides eventually leaked word that the candidate was unhappy with his campaign's handling of the Swifties. In public, though, Kerry sees no misstep. "I think we did absolutely fine," he told TIME.

[bhlewis]

Gotta love pandering democrats relying on "focus groups."

[integritycounts]

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/12/102130.shtml
Sunday, Sept. 12, 2004 10:18 a.m. EDT
CBS Won't Deny Kerry Link to Forged Docs

In a development that could have devastating implications for John Kerry's presidential campaign, CBS News is refusing to say whether the top Democrat, his campaign aides or any other prominent party officials had anything to do with supplying "60 Minutes" with a National Guard memo about President Bush that experts say was forged.

Asked about a Kerry connection to the forged memo, a senior CBS official told the New York Post, "I can't answer that question."

The unnamed CBS executive then promptly hung up.
Since Wednesday, when he first aired the Bush Guard document as authentic, CBS anchorman Dan Rather has steadfastly refused to identify its source. Ruling out the Kerry campaign, however, certainly wouldn't violate that confidentiality pledge.

On Friday, Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe vehemently denied that his office or anyone at the Kerry campaign was involved.

"No one here at the Democratic National Committee had anything at all to do with any of those documents," McAuliffe told reporters. "I can unequivocally speak for the Kerry for President Campaign Committee, nor do they have anything to do with these documents. Absolutely not."

It's unclear whether McAuliffe had actually investigated a possible Kerry link to the forged documents or was just offering his opinion.