John Kerry will have a very difficult time casting the main testimonial of the new advertisement of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth as a pack of lies. The new spokesman for Swiftvet anger at John Kerry is -- John Kerry. You can play the second advertisment at the SBVT site yourself ahead of any ad buys.

Through their juxtaposition of John Kerry's April 1971 testimony to the Senate and the personal stories of veterans and the impact it had on them, the advertisement may be the 2,000-lb JDAM that finally busts the bunker of the Kerry/Edwards campaign. Kerry's own voice from 33 years ago, shorn of its seasoning but full of its current arrogance, almost casually accuses American veterans of atrocities while those same men explain why his testimony was not only false but a complete betrayal:

John Kerry: “They had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads. . .”

Joe Ponder: “The accusations that John Kerry made against the veterans who served in Vietnam was just devastating.”

John Kerry: “. . . randomly shot at civilians. . .”

Joe Ponder: “It hurt me more than any physical wounds I had.”

John Kerry: “. . . cut off limbs, blown up bodies. . .”

Ken Cordier: “That was part of the torture, was, uh, to sign a statement that you had committed war crimes.”

John Kerry: “. . . razed villages in a fashion reminiscent of Ghengis Khan. . .”

Paul Gallanti: “John Kerry gave the enemy for free what I, and many of my, uh, comrades in North Vietnam, in the prison camps, uh, took torture to avoid saying. It demoralized us.”

John Kerry: “. . . crimes committed on a day to day basis. . . ”

Ken Cordier: “He betrayed us in the past, how could we be loyal to him now?”

John Kerry: “. . . ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam.”

Paul Gallanti: “He dishonored his country, and, uh, more, more importantly the people he served with. He just sold them out.”

By far, the most effective part of this ad is not Gallanti nor Cordier or Ponder. It is John Kerry, and the irony of having the testimony he used to climb over the reputations of good men, just to launch his political career, presented to curtail it is too delicious to ignore. The almost careless tone of voice underscores Kerry's complete lack of concern over the effect that his testimony had on his "band of brothers" and of the people of that region of the world. Those people would shortly grow smaller, by millions, thanks to the precipitous American withdrawal that he had a large hand into making a reality.

The strategy of the Swiftvets is nothing short of brilliant. Some people questioned why they didn't just start out talking about this instead of going after Kerry's service. It turns out that they knew a lot more than the naysayers could have imagined -- and they forced Kerry to withdraw a myth he's sold ever since 1979 about Cambodia. In fact, that effort has so unnerved Kerry that his campaign continues to put out changing stories two weeks later.

The predictable reaction to that would be a full-frontal assault on the motives and methods of the Swiftvets, which the New York Times and Washington Post helpfully provided this week. Some, including Mickey Kaus' bosses at Slate, considered the story to be over, as Mickey related on Hugh Hewitt tonight. But these military men know how to counterattack, too, and this ad provides the answer to the Times/Post shilling for the official Kerry position. Hardly motivated by Republican money, these men have a real grievance with Kerry that goes back a very long time, and when you see the commercial, you understand how sincere and deep that grievance runs.

No silly charts pointing to Karl Rove can get Kerry off of this hook. He set this trap himself 33 years ago, and the Swiftvets merely have forced him into it. The man who claims to have the superior intellect required to run the free world just got outfoxed again, this time by 250 men determined not to allow a man who dishonored them take command of the armed forces of this country.

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» Swift Boat Vets Ad #2 from The Key Monk
This ad has much more -- interspersed with excerpts from John Kerry's testimony TO Congress as a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War in 1971, wherein Kerry called US servicemen rapists and murderers, are reminiscences from three vets who served ... [Read More]

Tracked on August 21, 2004 12:31 AM

» Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Release Second Ad from New England Republican
WOW! The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have released their second ad "Sellout", and it is devastating. It gave me serious chills. No wonder the media assault began yesterday, they probably knew this ad was about to be released. Chris Matthews is goin... [Read More]

Tracked on August 21, 2004 12:14 PM