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Barbie2004
Commander
Joined: 18 Sep 2004
Posts: 338
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 Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 4:01 pm Post subject: Boston Globe:"On the trail of Kerry's failed dream" |
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Middle portion of Boston Globe article regarding Kerry Campaign, emphasis mine in article, heading bolded in original:
| Quote: | Swift boat veterans attack
On April 4, a group of 10 Vietnam veterans crammed into a second-floor conference room in Dallas and began plotting the downfall of John Kerry. The room was decorated with Parisian watercolors of ostriches and kittens, a design favored by the host of this meeting, Merrie Spaeth, a public relations executive who had once been director of media relations for Reagan.
The original seeds of this meeting lay not with Spaeth, but with two Vietnam veterans whose relationships with Kerry dated back three decades: The first was John O'Neill, a Nixon White House ally who had famously debated Kerry over the Vietnam War on "The Dick Cavett Show" in 1971. The second was Roy Hoffmann, one of Kerry's former commanding officers.
O'Neill, who had donated a kidney to his ailing wife, was at a Texas hospital in early February when he saw campaign footage of Kerry on television and decided the Democrat had to be stopped. He began calling veterans who might also be offended by the prospect of a man who once accused soldiers of "atrocities" becoming the nation's commander in chief. The veterans discussed vague plans to publicize Kerry's antiwar activities.
O'Neill had not served with Kerry, so his knowledge of the candidate's combat action was limited. But Hoffmann had -- and was still steaming over his portrayal in a Kerry-approved biography, "Tour of Duty," by Douglas Brinkley. The book compared Hoffmann to the Robert Duvall character in the movie "Apocalypse Now," who said he loved "the smell of napalm in the morning." Brinkley wrote that swift boat veterans had described Hoffmann as "hotheaded, bloodthirsty, and egomaniacal."
Kerry had tried to head off Hoffmann's anger by calling and offering to ask Brinkley to change the offending passages. But Hoffmann would not be swayed. Mutual disdain for Kerry eventually brought Hoffmann and O'Neill together, and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group that would later blindside the Democrat's campaign, was born.
The April 4 meeting in Dallas stretched to 12 hours, according to accounts from three people who were there, as the group ate barbecue and Tex-Mex and planned a news conference to denounce Kerry as "unfit for command." At one point, the veterans pulled out checkbooks and agreed to donate the first $60,000, with O'Neill offering $25,000. This seemed like a huge sum to many of them, but Spaeth said she told them they could collect much more through a fund-raising appeal -- an effort that netted $20 million.
The group debated strategy: Should it focus on Kerry's assertions that US soldiers had committed atrocities? Or should it go after his combat record, raising questions about whether he deserved his medals and three Purple Hearts?
Spaeth and others believed the group should focus its attacks on Kerry's antiwar efforts. Michael Bernique, who had gone on missions with Kerry, argued that he had acted courageously in combat. But others were adamant about going after his combat record.
O'Neill and Hoffmann had heard reports questioning whether Kerry deserved his first Purple Heart, given for a wound that Kerry's commanding officer had compared to a rose-thorn *****. They also entertained suspicions from veterans about Kerry's medals -- one a Bronze Star, the other a Silver Star. "We got very disquieting e-mails about what he had done in Vietnam," O'Neill said.
The O'Neill faction also argued that poking holes in Kerry's combat record would attract fresh media attention.
When the group decided to focus on Kerry's combat record as well as his antiwar activities, Bernique and several others objected and dropped out.
Kerry knew he needed to extend an olive branch to the many veterans still enraged over his 1971 assertions that fellow soldiers participated in mutilations, gang rapes, and the burning of villages. In April, Kerry went on NBC's "Meet the Press" and confessed that his accusations had been "a little bit over the top."
But if Kerry thought his mea culpa could tamp down 33-year-old flames of anger, he was wrong. On May 4, the swift boat vets convened a news conference in Washington to question Kerry's fitness as commander in chief. "This is not a political issue," said Hoffmann. "It is a matter of his judgment, truthfulness, reliability, loyalty, and trust -- all absolute tenets of command."
A phalanx of television cameras recorded the event, but the news conference didn't attract nearly as much publicity as the group hoped. What helped Kerry most was a change in headlines: The veterans' attack on Kerry was overshadowed by an unfolding scandal in a Baghdad prison that was about to knock the Bush campaign off course.
The failure of the swift boat veterans to gain traction lulled the Kerry campaign into a false sense of security. In fact, O'Neill was quietly preparing for a more intensive assault. |
It's a very long article, and should you wish to read the entire article:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/11/14/on_the_trail_of_kerrys_failed_dream?mode=PF
"A little over the top." He thought that that would make up for all he has done??? 
And they call him "nuanced" and "complex"??
note: Topic amended to reflect article title |
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Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
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| Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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20 words into this piece and you know where it's going.
"PLOTTING?" Now there's a "nuanced" descriptive.
Last edited by Me#1You#10 on Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:50 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Barbie2004
Commander
Joined: 18 Sep 2004
Posts: 338
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| Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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Yes.
There are numerous "spins" in the piece. I didn't want to spend too much time on this article.
Just to bring in to everyone's attention and for your archives should you wish to include it in your "puff pieces for Kerry."
All I really had to see was was published by the "Boston Globe" and I knew where it was headed.
If my memory serves me, it was the Boston Globe that produced the first attack on the Swiftboat Vets. And then, of course, the MSM had to "report" what the Boston Globe "reported."
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WilliamShipley
Seaman Recruit
Joined: 28 Aug 2004
Posts: 37
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| Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 6:14 pm Post subject: |
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While the article still characterizes the Swift Vet charges as unsubstantiated, it does make the positive step of properly portraying the group as having it's own genesis and it own agenda. The "Carl Rove puppet" claim which was so strong in discrediting the message was not even hinted at.
I think this is a very important step. In order for the unconvinced to seriously consider the Swift Boat arguments we have to dispell the misinformation that the Swifties were just Republican operatives. Once someone realizes that the Swift Vet's have their own, separate agenda, it is possible to have them look at the arguments on their own sake, not as Republican political spin. |
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DUNBAR
Seaman Recruit
Joined: 09 Sep 2004
Posts: 21
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| Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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I was about to start a thread regarding this........just showed up on Drudge.
I didn't know that John O'Neill gave his wife a kidney.
Very commendable on his part.
I still bash democrats on a regular basis..........anyone else?
They are still wrong......even after the election. LOL
_________________
Kerry's plight of a liar is predictable............History will erase him shortly after he loses the election...and this fool won't waste any of our time anymore.
But the efforts to hold him accountable, are notorious and will be a page in History. |
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stylin19
Lt.Jg.
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
Posts: 122
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| Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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They also got this wrong
"The line was the brainstorm of former US senator Max Cleland of Georgia. A close friend and Vietnam veteran who had lost both legs and his right arm in combat,..."
The Globe must still think we live in a vacum.
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U.S.M.C. - 1969-1971
RVN- 1970-1971 |
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deserturtle
Seaman
Joined: 07 Aug 2004
Posts: 187
Location: Las Vegas, NV
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| Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 9:02 pm Post subject: |
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what a pathetic campaign and a pathetic man......I am so glad I voted for Bush...
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The door to the room of success swings on the hinges of the opposition. |
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baldeagle
PO2
Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Posts: 362
Location: Grand Saline, Texas
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| Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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| stylin19 wrote: | They also got this wrong
"The line was the brainstorm of former US senator Max Cleland of Georgia. A close friend and Vietnam veteran who had lost both legs and his right arm in combat,..."
The Globe must still think we live in a vacum. |
Apparently there are in excess of 48 million people out there who do. Or at least they get their news from the Globe, the NYT, & the alphabet networks.
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"In a word, I want an American character, that the powers of Europe may be convinced we act for ourselves and not for others; this, in my judgment, is the only way to be respected abroad and happy at home." --George Washington |
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Darkhorse18
Lt.Jg.
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 108
Location: Woodbridge, VA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 10:07 pm Post subject: Hearing |
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A stiff wind was blowing across the canyon, and Kerry, whose hearing was damaged by gun blasts in Vietnam, had trouble understanding some of the questions being thrown his way.
I'm pretty sure Kerry's hearing was damaged by the first shot placed across his bow by the Swift Boat Veterans and POW's for Truth.  |
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LewWaters
Admin
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 4042
Location: Washington State
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| Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 11:52 pm Post subject: |
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I wonder how the meetings in the smoke filled backrooms housing strategists for the Kerry campaign, move-on.org and George Soros, not to mention Michael Moore would be spun by the Boston Globe?
It would be intersting to see how they sugar coat Dan Rathers use of forged documents to try to oust Bush as well.
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DUNBAR
Seaman Recruit
Joined: 09 Sep 2004
Posts: 21
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| Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2004 5:15 am Post subject: |
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I bet dollars to donuts that John "ho chi minh" Kerry views this website.
Any wagers on that statement? 
And now that the media has left his bedside, I am sure that his voice is moot.
LOLLLLLLL OLA !
_________________
Kerry's plight of a liar is predictable............History will erase him shortly after he loses the election...and this fool won't waste any of our time anymore.
But the efforts to hold him accountable, are notorious and will be a page in History. |
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USMCWayne
Lt.Jg.
Joined: 12 Oct 2004
Posts: 117
Location: Montana
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| Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2004 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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After finally having a chance to read and absorb the Boston Globe story on Kerry’s failed dream, I’m ready to express a few opinions.
As could be expected from a hometown newspaper, there were more than a few favorable comments regarding Saint John, and a fair share of negative comments regarding the evil empire known as the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth.
| Quote: | “Hearing damaged by gun blasts in Vietnam”
“tortured relationship to war”
“war hero and protester”
A man who had gone on missions with Kerry “argued that he had acted courageously in combat”
Swift Boat veterans “were conspiring”
Swift Boat Vets “began plotting the downfall of John Kerry”
“growing consensus that the campaign against Kerry was based on exaggerated or unproven claims” |
Despite all that, I thought the article was a fairly evenly balanced look at the failures of Kerry and his campaign.
Kerry’s Senate record of opposing military intervention seems to apply no matter what the reason or conflict, and gave the impression that even Sept 11 was not a good enough reason for America to go to war.
Additionally, Kerry’s Senate votes appear to be made less on principle, but simply for political expediency. Kerry’s votes were all cast in the context of a Presidential Race…and ended up showing him as a man without conviction, unwilling to do the heavy lifting required to be President of the U.S.
Kerry’s only stand for anything is that of being anti-war, which resulted in his devastating defeat for a U.S. House seat in 1972. After that, he seems to have become the be-medaled war hero candidate, which gained him a fair share of success, and allowed him to continue his anti-war efforts on a national stage.
Even his “apology” that his accusations in 1971 were “a little bit over the top” was less about saying he was sorry, that continuing to embrace the theory that he is right, and all the veterans who served honorably and faithfully, and the country, are wrong.
Somewhere along the line, he and his campaign staff showed just how wrongly they judged the American people. Kerry couldn’t stay on message, his campaign lacked focus, and Kerry himself was out-of-synch with the vast majority of Americans. Highlighting his “war hero” status, while ignoring the fact his fame was launched by denouncing servicemen and our country was so arrogant it defies description.
Kerry strategists are finally “getting” it as they ponder “was there too much Vietnam?” Duh. And making Vietnam “such a centerpiece could be second-guessed forever”. Duh once more.
Trying to make Kerry appear “normal” was a lost cause when the candidate is married to one of the richest women in the world, when his primary leisure activity is windsurfing, and when he goes hunting in a camouflage outfit that had been purchased that morning. Even Democrats had to see though to a man who was so far out of touch with mainstream America it was laughable.
John Kerry’s dream may be over, but America's dream lives on. |
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d19thdoc
PO3
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 280
Location: New Jersey Shore
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 3:48 am Post subject: |
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USMCWayne wrote:
| Quote: | Even his “apology” that his accusations in 1971 were “a little bit over the top” was less about saying he was sorry, that continuing to embrace the theory that he is right, and all the veterans who served honorably and faithfully, and the country, are wrong.
Somewhere along the line, he and his campaign staff showed just how wrongly they judged the American people. |
When it's really important, the American people show up.
"Over the top" is a self-serving euphemism for "lie." Even when he tries to tell the truth, he can't quite bring himself to do it.
The only apology of his that would work for me is one left in a note, next to a smoking gun, absent one round.
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For The Honor of the Fifty-Eight Thousand.
"He Can Lose, But He Can Not Hide" |
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greasepaint
Seaman
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 177
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2004 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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>Kerry’s Senate record of opposing military intervention seems to apply no matter what the reason or conflict,<
.
This is BS.
Kerry voted in favor of the US-Serbia conflict of '99. |
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