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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/03/politics/campaign/03VETS.html?ei=5070&en=d1f41dbeaab18901&ex=1077512400&pagewanted=print&position=

February 3, 2004
Veterans Move to Kerry, Even From Afar
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

OLUMBIA, S.C., Feb. 2 ? David Mitchell, a disabled Persian Gulf war veteran from Boston, came here to volunteer for John Kerry's South Carolina primary campaign, as he had done in Iowa and New Hampshire. He is a registered independent who voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and had never been politically active.

Norman White, 81, who fought in World War II and lives in Virginia, arrived here on Friday, a new recruit in the Kerry campaign. Wayne Smith, a combat medic in Vietnam, felt so strongly about the Kerry bid that he took a week of vacation from his job in Rhode Island to take part in a phone bank directed towards veterans here.

"I've never done anything like this before but I'm so proud of his message, his personal courage and integrity," said Mr. Smith, finishing one of hundreds of calls for the day. "And believe me, as an African-American I hate being here and seeing these Confederate flags flying. But I think veterans can make a difference this year and it's so important."

Veterans are emerging as a new and potentially powerful constituency in this year's presidential race, having helped propel Mr. Kerry to victories in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.

The Kerry campaign is hoping that the huge military population in South Carolina will produce a victory here as well for their candidate, a decorated soldier who has championed veterans' rights in the Senate.

In dozens of interviews over the past two days, many veterans here said they had recently become Kerry supporters. Strikingly, most of those interviewed said they had never before been involved in politics and some had not voted in years. Others were registered independents or even Republicans who had supported Mr. Bush in the last election.

"In Iowa, this band of brothers was out in the snow chasing down one vote at a time," said former Senator Max Cleland of Georgia, a disabled veteran, who was playing host to a raucous Super Bowl party on Sunday for nearly 100 local and visiting "Veterans for Kerry" at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post here.

"The real story of New Hampshire and Iowa was this silent draw of new voters," Mr. Cleland said. "And it crosses party lines ? both Democrats and Republicans who are teed off with the current administration."

In New Hampshire, 36 percent of veterans and 39 percent of voters from military households voted for Mr. Kerry, according to exit polls from last week's primary ? about the same level of support for Kerry shown by most every other group.

Howard Dean placed second with both groups, with just over 20 percent of their vote. Gen. Wesley K. Clark, another veteran, was third with about 15 percent.

At the Veterans for Kerry phone bank in a nondescript strip mall, volunteers said that 30 percent to 50 percent of the more than 10,000 veterans they had contacted said they would vote for Mr. Kerry.

The military is omnipresent in this state. Twenty percent of registered voters in 2000 were veterans, and an estimated 4,000 Vietnam War veterans move to the state each year.

In addition, South Carolina is home to numerous military bases. The Navy is the largest employer in Charleston, and there is an "Armed Services Reception Desk" by the car rental desks at the Columbia airport.

One wild card in the elections this year is the size of the contingent of "independent" veterans and military personnel who have switched their allegiance since the 2000 campaign.

"I don't think I could vote for George Bush again when I think of the 500 people killed in Iraq and what's happened to the economy in this country," said George Meagher, an independent, who runs the American Military Museum in Charleston and said he now favors Mr. Kerry.

This is a small state peppered with military families who are feeling the toll of the extended U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf. "If you're losing family, it's hard to support an administration when the reasons for the involvement are coming into question," said Crystal Broadnax, a recently retired reservist whose husband served in Iraq.

Ms. Broadnax said she would not vote for President Bush a second time, though among Democrats she is favoring John Edwards because she is more familiar with the senator from North Carolina.

Veterans have various reasons for supporting Mr. Kerry, including his support for military health and retirement benefits as well as his evolving opposition to the war in Iraq over the past year, which many said mirrored their own ambivalence.

"I'm leaning towards John Kerry since he's been there and knows what people like me have been through," said Dwight Drakeford, 54.

For many the bond is deeply emotional. Michael Steven Myers, a decorated Vietnam veteran from Virginia Beach, called Mr. Kerry's office two weeks ago to volunteer. "In the start I backed the president on Iraq because that is what a soldier does," Mr. Myers said. "But after awhile the reasons they were giving fell away, and now it started to bring back my feelings about Vietnam. Again, a lot of us are ending up asking where is the endpoint and why U.S. soldiers are dying there."

Mr. Myers, a writer who said he did not vote in the last election, said: "He's a proven leader and a brother and I would follow him anywhere."

It is still unclear, of course, if the Kerry drive here among veterans will yield votes. Senator John McCain tried, and failed, to mobilize enough veterans in the 2000 Republican primary. But local veterans leaders point out that his opponent, Mr. Bush, had a strong local following. He comfortably beat Al Gore here.

"I think John Kerry will do much better than John McCain did in 2000," said Augustus Singleton, commander of V.F.W. Post 4262 here. "The appeal is much bigger. The whole atmosphere is different. And I think the veterans vote is going to have a big impact in South Carolina this year."

Mark Strassmann: “Democrats want to exploit a contrast with Lieutenant George Bush. They charge the future Commander-in-Chief was AWOL. Call it a clear warning shot on the debate to come about national security.... Bush’s service record cuts deep for this group: veterans campaigning for John Kerry, state by state.” David Mitchell, identified as a “Republican” veteran: “He wasn’t there when we needed him.”

– CBS Evening News, February 4.

COLUMBIA, S.C., One veteran, David Mitchell, said he had to wait 17 months to see a doctor after returning home from combat. Mitchell served in the armed forces up through the first Gulf War, ( interesting phrase ) and walks with a cane.

COLUMBIA, S.C., Feb. 2 ? David Mitchell, a disabled Persian Gulf war veteran from Boston, came here to volunteer for John Kerry's South Carolina primary campaign, as he had done in Iowa and New Hampshire. He is a registered independent who voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and had never been politically active.

Me thinks that the man talks out of both sides of his face.