Bush's silence on ad shows his character (Barf Alert)

The Kansas City Star ^ | August 17, 2004 | Kansas City Star Editorial Board

[GarySpFc]

The biggest Republican campaign donor in Texas has financed a smear campaign to not only challenge Sen. John Kerry's Vietnam War heroism but also to portray him as a liar and a coward.

This is based on unsupported charges and transparently deceptive tactics. Yet President Bush has failed for days to denounce it, a decision that he knows gives the ad credibility with some poorly informed voters.

Bush talks a lot about the importance of character. This was a good test of his ability to live up to that rhetoric, and so far he has failed it. Consequently, the American public will continue to be subjected to an ad that ignores the serious issues of a presidential race.

[jtminton]

I bet he will as soon as Kerry denounces MoveOn.org.

[KJacob]

Yet President Bush has failed for days to denounce it, a decision that he knows gives the ad credibility

This one sentence says it all. A pathetic attack on Bush does not change the fact that the ad will have an effect. I am sure this writer demanded that Kerry denounce F9/11 or Moveon.org. Right?

[gilliam]

Let them know that the Swiftvets are now sponsored by thousands of veterans, not one guy in Texas.

[snooker]

Ummm, they are doing their usual leftist reporting. See no, hear no, do no, ... as long as it's a dim canidate.

Last night FNC said they had contacted the vets for interviews and asked if any media had contacted them... answer was no. When Wilson paraded his lies the media couldn't wait to interview him and put him on air.

No bias is there.

[Hacksaw]

The fact that all these papers are calling on Bush to "do something about it" shows it must be effective.

[Sinner6]

Welcome to FreeRepubic

They were defending Moore's of free speech and stating how wonderful it was to finally have someone saying what they were thinking.

[Conspiracy Guy]

John Kerry

Sung to Tom Dooley



Hang down your head John Kerry,
Hang down your head and cry.
Hang down your head John Kerry,
We know you’re bound to lie.



You’ve lied about your service,
Over in Viet Nam.
You twist your senate record,
We know that you’re a scam.



Hang down your head John Kerry,
Hang down your head and cry.
Hang down your head John Kerry,
We know you’re bound to lie.



You said that you did war crimes,
Now you say you’re the man.
That has the right to lead us,
I do not think you can.



Hang down your head John Kerry,
Hang down your head and cry.
Hang down your head John Kerry,
We know you’re bound to lie.



You’ve voted yes Iraq War,
Then turned and voted no.
Just what now do you stand for,
We’d really like to know.



Hang down your head John Kerry,
Hang down your head and cry.
Hang down your head John Kerry,
We know you’re bound to lie.

Conspiracy Guy aka DIF 8/6/2004

This Parody has been denounced by George W. Bush

[sgtbono2002]

Has this newspaper investigated the charges of the Swift Boat veterans before calling them lies??

Just ask yourself that.

[KSREP]

Every media group denounces the Swifties but none of them denounce moveon.org for comparing W to Hitler. The Swifties at least have truth on their side.

[KellyAdmirer]

Maybe Kerry IS a liar and a coward. Why can't these liberal newspapers support the values of free speech and the free flow of ideas in this situation that they always champion when THEIR reporting is at issue? The answer is obvious.

[axel f]

Surprise surprise. The publisher of the KC Star is on tape calling Beverly LaHaye an "atrocious fill-in-the-blank."

[Blood of Tyrants]

I have yet to hear Kerry or ANYONE on the left condemn the ads where Bush was compared to Hitler. But then, whe KNOW that no one on the left has any character.

[Semper Vigilantis]

I am searching & searching, but I cannot find a single comment from the Dimocrats speaking out against Fahrenheit 911.
Imagine that...

[PhiKapMom]

I just wrote them and told them they needed to follow the same Code of Ethics as The Oklahoman. Then proceeded to ask them why they hadn't written about a number of attacks on the President.

[EdReform]

LOL! Excellent ad, CG!

[msp2004]

Well I sent my message to the Star and a letter to the editor. I am sure I'll be printed in the next issue. LOL

[Conspiracy Guy]

Thanks. I had Bush denounce it at the end!

[MEGoody]

E-mail sent

Dear Editor:

Anyone who has watched the news (from a variety of sources) knows that the editorial of 08/17/04 (titled as shown above) is unjournalistically one-sided. Where is the criticism of George Soros for his support of anti-Bush 527s? Where is the criticism of John Kerry for not coming out against those ads? Where is the mention that Kerry has now admitted he was not in Cambodia on Christmas after all? The Star has been strangely silent on these issues.

I also noticed that the writer of this editorial mentioned the pro-Kerry book, "Tour of Duty" but did not mention the book "Unfit for Command."

Of course, the Star has always shown itself to be a left leaning newspaper, so why would I be surprised.

[NavyCanDo]

Thanks to Campaign Finance Reform it is against the law for Bush to direct what should happen to the Swift Boat ad, one way or another.

The media that says Bush should demand the ad be pulled are either ignorant of what CFR is, or are trying to coax Bush to break the campaign finance reform laws.

Campaign Finance Reform was supposed to get big money contributions out of politics, but all it did is funnel the tax deductible money to the 527's which have more liberty in what they say, except that cant say the words "vote for", so as not to look like they are supporting a particular candidate. I would bet there is more money flowing in this election than ay before CFR.

[DaveMSmith]

I have the image of Michael Moore sitting in Jimmy Carter's box at the Democrat convention seared... SEARED in my brain...

Moore indeed received all kinds of support from the left for his 'documentary'. No one questioned the nonsense...he was lauded as a hero.

No we have USN officers and sailors (read: real heros) who feel a duty to share what they know about John Kerry and this should be squelched? Sorry, their views and opinions are important.

The left is showing their true colors. They are liars using facist intimidation.

Try to buy Unfit for Command in a bookstore - ask for the title.