Thursday, August 19, 2004

Off the Cuff: I had to laugh today when Paul Begala criticized the famous "Katherine Harris" for not coming back from Europe in some sort of timely manner to help her constituents from the damage done by Hurricane George. Tucker Carlson's response was to be "fair to Katherine because she was at a family wedding!"  4:36:14 PM    comment []

Kerry: Bush Lets Groups Do 'Dirty Work' By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer BOSTON - Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) accused President Bush (news - web sites) on Thursday of relying on front groups to challenge his record of valor in Vietnam, asserting, "He wants them to do his dirty work."  Fighting back, Kerry said if Bush wants to "have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: 'Bring it on.'" Bush served stateside in the Texas Air National Guard during the war. "Thirty years ago, official Navy reports documented my service in Vietnam and awarded me the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts," Kerry said in remarks to a firefighters convention. "Thirty years ago, this was the plain truth. It still is. And I still carry the shrapnel in my leg from a wound in Vietnam."  Full article 8:01:31 AM    comment []

Bush V.S. Bush on the Daily Show. Govenor Bush debates President Bush. Is there a little flip flopping going on? Watch Clip 6:44:56 AM    comment []

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Michael Savage on one of the Authors of the new anti-Kerry book- Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry Jerome R. Corsi's bigotry: "Is that racist? ... Is that offensive to you? ... I don't see a problem ...." These are the kinds of radio talk show hosts that dominate the airwaves: MICHAEL SAVAGE is the man who got fired for his anti-gay remarks on his short lived MSNBC show. CLick on the "Watch Video" link, then scroll down to the middle of the page that says: MICHAEL SAVAGE IN HIS OWN WORDS WATCH SAVAGE'S JULY 5 ATTACK ON GAY CALLER [ Watch Video ] (2.3 MB) 6:16:02 AM    comment []

Clarence Page Despite Cheney's disclaimer, he and Bush are `sensitive' too Published August 18, 2004 WASHINGTON -- A "more sensitive" war on terror? That's a joke, except when Team Bush wants to have one. Such is the not-so-subtle message in Vice President Dick Cheney's ridicule of Sen. John Kerry's call for a "more sensitive" war on terror."America has been in too many wars for any of our wishes, but not a one of them was won by being sensitive," Cheney told Bush supporters in Dayton, Ohio, Thursday. "A sensitive war will not destroy the evil men who killed 3,000 Americans. ... The men who beheaded [U.S. citizens] Daniel Pearl and Paul Johnson will not be impressed by our sensitivity." Cheney's implied message to a crowd heavy with men and women who, unlike Cheney, are military veterans, was that war vet Kerry sounds like a wuss compared to the fearless men and women of Team Bush. Was Cheney right about Kerry? Or, astonishing as it may be to comprehend, was he quoting Kerry out of context? I report, you decide: Cheney was referring to Kerry's recent statement at the UNITY convention for journalists of color in Washington. In context, Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, said: "I believe I can fight a more effective, more thoughtful, more strategic, more proactive, more sensitive war on terror that reaches out to other nations and brings them to our side and lives up to American values in history." Got that? Kerry called for a "more effective, more thoughtful, more strategic, more proactive" war on terror, as well as "more sensitive," the adjective upon which Cheney chose to whale away. Full article 6:01:43 AM    comment []

Off the Cuff: "When has France ever been a friend to America? They have never been a friend to America." - Bush-loving C-SPAN caller this morning. Umm, when they helped fund the American Revolution? When they gave us the Statue of Liberty? When the French Resistance helped us win World War II? Remember, caller: Friends don't let friends drive drunk. Thanks http://www.suburbanguerrilla.blogspot.com/ 5:53:03 AM    comment []

Fox New Channel will not let Swift Boat go away. John Goodman, filling in for Bill O'Reilly cited new polls stating that  the Swift Boat Veteran's ad is hurting John Kerry stating that "independent voters who were pre-disposed to vote for Kerry are leaning the other way." In the segment, Goodman never stated what polls he was refering to and he ganged up with republican hatchet man Brent Bozell the "III" against Paul Waldman , editor for "Gadflyer" in the segment. Gadflyer.com in a recent post on their site : I Denounce Your Non-Denouncement Paul Waldman (11:14AM) link John Kerry has now denounced an ad from MoveOn hitting back at the Bush campaign and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth over their ads. It’s a clever move, to a certain extent, because it puts pressure on Bush to denounce SBVT, which he hasn’t done. The response from the Bush campaign to MoveOn has been predictable: they condemned the "baseless charges" and sent John McCain to claim that the MoveOn ad is "the same line of scurrilous attack" as the Swift Boat Veterans ad. Oh please. Let's get this straight: Every word of the MoveOn ad is true. The Swift Boat ad, on the other hand, is filled with false insinuations and unsubstantiated charges. Full article 5:26:06 AM    comment []

Records Counter a Critic of Kerry Fellow Skipper's Citation Refers To Enemy Fire By Michael Dobbs Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, August 19, 2004; Page A01 Newly obtained military records of one of Sen. John F. Kerry's most vocal critics, who has accused the Democratic presidential candidate of lying about his wartime record to win medals, contradict his own version of events. In newspaper interviews and a best-selling book, Larry Thurlow, who commanded a Navy Swift boat alongside Kerry in Vietnam, has strongly disputed Kerry's claim that the Massachusetts Democrat's boat came under fire during a mission in Viet Cong-controlled territory on March 13, 1969. Kerry won a Bronze Star for his actions that day. 5:24:36 AM    comment []

Retiring GOP Rep.: Iraq war unjustified USATODAY LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A top Republican congressman has broken from his party in the final days of his House career, saying he believes the U.S. military assault on Iraq was unjustified and that the situation there has deteriorated into "a dangerous, costly mess." "I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action," Rep. Doug Bereuter, R-Neb., wrote in a letter to constituents. Full article 5:16:29 AM    comment []

Politics as Usual NY Times t may seem outlandish to launch a campaign broadside by television ad and book flackery devoted to discrediting the respectable Vietnam War record of Senator John Kerry, who has five combat medals.  The leader of the attack, John O'Neill, a Swift boat veteran and Texas lawyer, has been a detractor of Mr. Kerry for decades, ever since the Nixon White House recruited him to rebut Mr. Kerry's criticism of Vietnam policy. And the chief donor to the Swift boat broadside is a Texas businessman, Bob Perry, who is known for giving millions to the campaigns of President Bush and other Republicans. Senator John McCain, the Vietnam hero who was smeared by one such "independent" stealth group in the 2000 campaign, has denounced the Swift Boat Veterans' attack as dishonest and dishonorable, declaring, "The Bush administration should specifically condemn the ad." So far that hasn't happened. We can only hope the senator brought the point up as he campaigned last week with Mr. Bush. 5:12:50 AM    comment []

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