Posted on 08/14/2004 3:04:43 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
FLEMINGTON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2004--A video released last week by the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth (www.swiftvets.com), an organization aiming to refute John Kerry's Vietnam war record, has drawn the attention and skepticism of independent voters.
As reported on the website ReadMyLipz.com, the Swift Boat video, featuring outspoken Vietnam veterans claiming that Kerry has been untruthful about his Vietnam service, was successful in drawing the attention of non-affiliated voters. In fact, 6 out of 10 independents who viewed the video reacted with suspicion and skepticism.
During an on-line poll of more than 1,200 pre-selected nation-wide voters - Republicans, Democrats and Independents - each were asked to respond on a sliding scale for interest and believability to what is said and shown in the video.
While viewed with doubt by a solid majority of independent voters, the video also appears to have an effect on placing doubt in the minds of independent voters that are leaning towards Kerry in the November election. More specifically, 27% of independents who either planned to vote, or were leaning toward voting for Kerry, indicated that they were no longer sure of voting for him after watching the video.
Dr. Chris Borick, Director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, indicated that "given the tight nature of this year's race for the White House, any advertisement that can cast doubt about a candidate is important." He contends, "While most independents in our study treated the ad with skepticism, it does appear to weaken some of Kerry's support among the crucial set of voters who are not affiliated with the Democratic or Republican Parties."
One surprise was the advertisement's weak effect upon Independents intending to vote for Bush. Among this segment, only 1.52% felt that they were less likely to vote for the President after watching the video. This is contrary to past advertising research, which has demonstrated that negative advertisements tend to push viewers away from both the candidate being attacked and the candidate doing the attacking.
"It was clear to us that this video was going to have an impact on voters," said Glenn Kessler, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, HCD Research. "Obviously the Swift Boat Veterans' intent was to publicly question Kerry's war record, and it looks like they succeeded."
"Organizations such as the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth may still accept 'soft money' donations under new campaign finance laws, therefore they don't have to play by the same rules as the candidates," explained Kessler. "Our objective is to measure whether the message is positive or negative toward either candidate," Kessler noted.
Additional testing is being conducted on a weekly basis through the November election. This is the first time a quantitative analysis of this type has been performed for political advertising.
ReadMyLipz.com was developed by HCD Research in conjunction with the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) and Emmy Award-winning Network Television Producer Stu Kreisman. Headquartered in Flemington, New Jersey, HCD Research is a pioneer in Internet health care marketing and advertising research. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, MCIPO is a respected source of public opinion data on local, state and national issues. Kreisman is a writer/producer best known for his work on popular network television series such as Cheers, Night Court, Newhart and SCTV. For more information or to share your views on current campaign political advertising, access www.readmylipz.com.
The advertising study was conducted by ReadMyLipz.com, a joint project by HCD Research and Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) that aims to track public sentiment regarding campaign advertising. The 1,275 participants, 371 of whom were Independents, were asked to watch an advertisement supporting one of the two major candidates and to give feedback using a variety of methods, including real-time interest and believability tracking and the Ayer Emotional Battery. Complete information on survey methodology can be found at www.ReadMyLipz.com.
Contrary to the image of the Vietnam era some have, it was a terrible, devisive time in this country. I lived through it, and it was not anything like what the impression you get from the TV is... there were good arguments for, and against, the war, and for staying the course, or for clearing out.
There were good people on either side- but there were also the less-than-good, who were driven by various personal agendas, and demons-- and I believe John Kerry falls into the latter category. Maybe he was a fearless sailor- or maybe he was one of those hotdogs who'll get you killed, because a little fear helps keep you alive... I don't know for sure, and we probably never will see the truth.
But I do know this- I wouldn't want him to boss a construction gang- let alone lead this country into the third or fourth World War.
President Bush has proven he can lead for three years- we can argue about CFR, and other subjects, but on the big one, there's no room for argument.
Thank you backhoe.
Bump!
I didn't know about this video. Excellent.
Donate to the Swift Vets:
http://www.swiftvets.com/
Powerful new flash video up on the home page now.
Just read through the study and the results are really fascinating.
*** GREAT IMPACT ON INDEPENDENTS!!!***
We need to keep supporting the Swifties!!!
Keep demanding that Kerry release his military records!!!
Yes! Yes! Yes!!
The Swifties, having been vilified by Kerry for decades, might finally get theirs back. Ridicule and sneering just won't cut it for the dims on this one.
Online:
https://swift1.he.net/~swiftvet/swift/ccdonation.php?op=donate&site=SwiftVets
Or:
Contributions can also be sent to:
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
c/o Weymouth Symmes, Treasurer
PO Box 26184
Alexandria, VA 22313
When contributing by check, please include your occupation and employer.
In my opinion, the SBV have done more, in less time, and with fewer resources, than any other group I have seen so far.
Your're RIGHT! President Bush has proven he can lead and I too what him to stay in office and lead this Wonderful country of ours.
This is a copy of the letter I (we) sent the DNC via regular mail.
"Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
To whom it may concern:
Enclosed please find one, three page document titled SF 180, request pertaining to military records.
Would you be so kind as to have your parties candidate for president fill out the form, according to the directions supplied, and mail the completed document to the address indicated.
Once the documents he (your candidate) requested are delivered to you, will you then release them, in their entirety, to the news media that are charged with covering your campaign?
Thank you for your prompt attention to this most important matter.
Xxxxxxx & Xxxxx Xxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Terrace
Inverness, FL 34450
P/S … Please make sure your candidate signs the form."
========================================================================
If many will do the same kind of thing I'm sure it will have some effect, if only to demoralize the enemy. ;)
You can download and copy the SF 180 form below
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/obtain_copies/standard_form_180.pdf">
"Would you be so kind as to have your parties candidate ..."
Should be party's
They will undoubtably read that spelling error and throw it in the garbage. You think?
I remember being disgusted by the "body count show" on the nightly news.
We did not truly realize, in those days, how anti-American and biased the media was. The war was lost as much via the television screen as anything else.
What manner of political campaign for high office has the unmitigated gall to promote its candidate as a war hero in a war he says we lost on merit?Keep demanding that Kerry release his military records!!!What manner of political campaign for high office promotes its candidate solely as a combat veteran, to the exclusion of any discussion of his own decades-long political record?
The important point about that is that John Kerry's pretense is that he is running on nothing else. But note that even though President Bush's campaign is about his high-level political record, President Bush was pushed into releasing all records of his (admittedly peripheral) military service.John Kerry's "war hero" political posture obviously makes no sense in the conventional terms of which the swift vets so understandably speak. But Liberalism in general and John Kerry in particular has always defined courage as opposition to the Vietnam War. Liberals grudgingly grant exceptions to that rule - but only for WWII veterans who were too old to fight in Vietnam. Or for combatants who were killed in action there.
Kerry supporters really don't care whether Kerry deserved those medals by swiftvet standards or not; Kerry is their definition of courage merely for associating with all those American soldiers with guns, for getting those medals irrespective of truth and irrespective of who got hurt in his doing so, and for using those medals to oppose
the waranticommunism.Liberals consider any living male opponent under retirement age to be a coward by definition. In effect the nomination of Kerry for POTUS is a smear of Bush. Kerry is not running against George Bush. Kerry is running against anticommunism. Kerry is running against Ronald Reagan.
That is where the real political fight must be waged; in actual fact this whole Vietnam controversy is a smoke screen for what the Democratic Party stands for. Apparently Bush and Rove know that. If so they will go after the DNC more for lionizing Jimmy Carter the un-Reagan than they will for inflating Kerry's irrelevant "war hero" resume.
With all due respect to the swift vets, the fundamental issue must be resolved before their issue even matters. That fundamental issue is not the swift vets' truth but that that truth actually matters. Make the point that the swift vets' truth matters, and Kerry has to sign over his military record - and IMHO no one doubts that that would be "game over." Journalism will go to the wall to oppose that.
Great rant!
Ahyep, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism...
Want some popcorn?
Over 100 Anti-Kerry Websites linked to one Page
Very useful site to Bookmark!!!
Click here:
I was a lefty then.
I marvel at so many who are unreconstructed still.
Thank you CaraM.
The man certainly makes a bad impression.
That's the catch- a failure to grow, and, if I may be blunt, grow up. I started as a Goldwater supporter, and went through a sort-of liberal phase as a young man- but getting married, and having responsibilities cured me of any leftwing leanings.
The article misses the real significance of the study: If you go to the website for the original study:
http://readmylipz.com/pdf/SwiftBoatStudy.pdf
you see on pages 16-17 how effective the ad is in turning-around Democrats who FAVOR Kerry. It cut the number leaning toward Kerry by over 50%.
This is important stuff!
Yeah....responsibilities do that although folks who make it easy sometimes don't change either....like entertainers and athletes.
I was always more conservative than I realized inside being a 7th generation Mississippi WASP but after seeing the world by 23, the deal was done....Righty forever.
Good point. We really DO need to be supporting them. I wish they would run this ad in other states.
Here's and online PDF viewer:
Punch in a PDF url HERE and you can read PDF files online without a download.
Individual contributions would be "hard money", and therefore, they could run the ad outside of the 30/60 day rule if they have the funds to do that.
Well, I married a self-described "New Deal Democrat" who was, until that near-death experience in 2001, a professional musician... and it made for some interesting dialogues, debates, and diatribes around the Backhoe household.
I always had certain things in my favor, however- my wife's family were small business people, and so was she for a time in the Eighties, so she knew there was no such thing as a free ride or "free" stuff from the government. And she always had a clear concept of right versus wrong, and the importance of honesty and truth. I usually finished any disputes ( and they were really few, and not rancorous ) with, "You know, you are more conservative than you realize..."
She finally registered to vote this year- as a Republican. Surprised me, truth be told.
But of course it's having an impact on Independent voters. You only have to see how viciously the Dems are attacking the Swiftboat Vets to know it is having an impact.
Bump.
Just made a donation. As a Viet Nam vet, I am glad to stand by my brave brothers.
Agreed. Anyone who doesn't doubt how divisive Vietnam was and is in this country only has to note that the site of the Kent State deaths is now a parking garage. There's a placque to indicate events, but that's it. Now who would want to bury that memory so much that it be made a place to park? Hmmmmm.
God bless, neighbor- I suspect SBV is getting more than they hoped for-- I saw something about how much more they had collected than anticipated, but didn't save the info.
The American people were propagandized into giving up on the war effort. The losses upon our withdrawal were staggering -- that was not prominently aired either.
I'm no fan of having the US try to "fix" every evil in the world, but we damn sure shouldn't start something and not finish it.
Good God! Somehow, that had escaped my attention, and it's very telling. Our oldest niece was born in 1984, and the Vietnam War is as distant to her as WWII or Korea- it's like it's from another planet. If you didn't experience the division of this country back then first-hand, it is nearly impossible to convey.
The Tet Offensive was what truly opened my eyes to how bad the media had become in this country- the impression I got from TV and the press was that it was a resounding blow against America-- then I started reading the books that came out not long after, and saw that the North Vietnamese were the ones defeated. But that was not the story America was told, and the spin stuck.
Excellent point. I just see red when I read the lies and distortions.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR..........
But you've brought my bp down a bit. Thanks.
**Grin**
Well, we both supported Goldwater in 1964 ( this was when my town was 80% Democrat! ) so we always had that in common.
Bump!!
I had just returned from a year in-country at Tet; was in CNO's front office, trying to keep Adm. Moorer's schedule on track. But, I had a good view of the action in DC at the time.
The gut-shot reaction to Tet on the E-Ring was palpable -- following just a couple of weeks after the Pueblo.
I well remember the deplorable press coverage. Cronkite was leading the hand-wringing, as he had "flipped" the year before.
IMHO, however, the war had already been lost, as the corruption and ineptness of the Saigon Regime was absolutely unbelievable. I had dealt with Thieu and Ky on two separate instances coordinating their flight(s) up to Yankee Station. The stories I could relate about these decadent bums would fill volumes. The war was lost before Westmoreland could check the crease in his fatigues, for the hearts and minds of the populace literally were already lost by early "65. Komer and Company actually exacerbated the problem -- winging it with one failed program after another -- all with McNamara's hapless guidance. (In fact, Moorer tasked me with the job of engineering the JCS going-away present for the fired SecDef in late November '67.)Horrible times in Washington !!
So much for that war. We have another one right now --and in my view, we ignore the Islamist threat at our peril.
"The Fall of South Vietnam" detailed that for me, years ago. Good point, worth remembering.
So much for that war. We have another one right now --and in my view, we ignore the Islamist threat at our peril.
Absolutely correct. There will be no Third Way, no second place winner in this one- it's western civilization versus a cult of death.
Thanks!
MEGA- 
Stay Strong
Fuzzy
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