Michael Kranish "dowdified" George Elliott quote for his story.

Michael Kranish rocked us on Friday with a story, headlined "Veteran retracts criticism of Kerry", which told us that:

"a key figure in the anti-Kerry campaign, Kerry's former commanding officer, backed off one of the key contentions. Lieutenant Commander George Elliott said in an interview that he had made a ''terrible mistake" in signing an affidavit that suggests Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star -- one of the main allegations in the book.

Elliott is quoted as saying that Kerry ''lied about what occurred in Vietnam . . . for example, in connection with his Silver Star, I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back."

Get Maureen Dowd on the line - that may have been the most misleading ellipsis ever published, but since the affidavit was not public, who knew?

Now, both the original affidavit and the re-affirmation (the retraction of the retraction) are available here. I will read it again, and you should, too, but my first reaction is that Kranish wrote a wildly deceptive and misleading story.

3. When Kerry came back to the United States he lied about what ocurred in Vietnam, comparing his commanders to Lt. Calley of My Lai, comparing the American armed forces to the army of Ghengis Khan, and making similar misstatements. Kerry was also not forthright in Vietnam. For example, in connection with his Silver Star, I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back.

Hello, Mr. Reporter! When Capt. Elliot "backed of one of the key contentions", was it the My Lai complaint, or the Ghengis Khan comparison? Or was it one example preceded by "for example"?

Unbelievable. In his re-affirming affidavit, Capt. Elliot cites the same material I did to reach this conclusion - he was not informed of the facts, and "had I known the facts, I would not have recommended Kerry for the Silver Star for simply pursuing and dispatching a single, wounded, fleeing VietCong".

In the ad, Elliott says, ''John Kerry has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam."

Asked to supply evidence to support that statement, the anti-Kerry group provided a copy of Elliott's affidavit. Elliott said the same affidavit had been used in the production of the book.

It is unclear whether the work contains further justification for the assertion, beyond Elliott's statement.

Oh, it is going to be pretty clear, I bet. They still need to back it up, but there will be more.

Earlier, I had guessed that the Swiftees would disappear under the headline of "Cranks can't get story straight". But if Kranish has been this irresponsible, the Swiftees will sail on as the heroes of a "Liberal media attempts to squash Veteran truth-tellers" drama.

"What Elliot is saying is that he does not know if it is true that John Kerry shot a wounded Viet Cong in the back..."

Wrong.

Excerpt from the excerpt below:

"....in Kranish's own book on page 102 he quotes Kerry as acknowledging that he killed a single, wounded, fleeing Vietcong soldier whom he was afraid would turn around -- meaning he shot him in the back!"

Rush Limbaugh: "Boston Globe 'Reporter' Paid By Kerry Demonstrates Huge See, I Told You So on Campaign Finance Reform Folly August 6, 2004"

Excerpt:

"The following statement from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth concerns an article appearing in [today's] Boston Globe... [Viet Vet] Captain George Elliott describes an article appearing in today’s edition of the Boston Globe by Mike Kranish as 'extremely inaccurate' and 'highly misstating' his actual views.

He reaffirms his statement in the current advertisement paid for by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Captain Elliott reaffirms his affidavit in support of that advertisement, and he reaffirms his request that the ad be played."

Essentially Captain Elliott is renouncing what is said of him in this Boston Globe Mike Kranish story.

The statement then goes on to say, "Additional documentation will follow. The article by Mr. Kranish is particularly surprising given page 102 of Mr. Kranish’s own book quoting John Kerry as acknowledging that he killed a single, wounded, fleeing Viet Cong soldier whom he was afraid would turn around."

Let's just stop there. Kranish, the author of the Boston Globe story, wrote a book on John Kerry, is his biographer, and on page 102 of that book that Kranish wrote, he quotes Kerry acknowledging that he 'killed a single, wounded, fleeing Vietcong soldier whom he was afraid would turn around.'

Yet, Kranish writes today in the Boston Globe: "Yesterday a key figure in the anti-Kerry campaign, Kerry's former commanding officer, backed off one of the key contentions. Lieutenant Commander George Elliott said in an interview that he had made a 'terrible mistake' in signing an affidavit that suggests Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star..."

"Elliott is quoted as saying that Kerry 'lied about what occurred in Vietnam . . . for example, in connection with his Silver Star, I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back.' The statement refers to an episode in which Kerry killed a Viet Cong soldier who had been carrying a rocket launcher, part of a chain of events that formed the basis of his Silver Star.

Over time, some Kerry critics have questioned whether the soldier posed a danger to Kerry's crew....

Yesterday, reached at his home, Elliott said he regretted signing the affidavit and said he still thinks Kerry deserved the Silver Star. I still don't think he shot the guy in the back,' Elliott said. 'It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words.'"

Yet in Kranish's own book on page 102 he quotes Kerry as acknowledging that he killed a single, wounded, fleeing Vietcong soldier whom he was afraid would turn around -- meaning he shot him in the back!

Who is Mike Kranish? Mike Kranish is a reporter covering the Kerry campaign for the Boston Globe. Mike Kranish is also a biographer of John Kerry, and as I just learned during our break at the top of the hour, Mike Kranish has also written the yet-to-be-released official campaign book for Kerry-Edwards. It is entitled "Kerry-Edwards."

You can get it now on Amazon. It's not available. The item has not yet been released but you can order it and they'll ship it to you when it arrives. List price, $12.95, your Amazon price, $10.36.

What does it [AMAZON] say about the author?:

"Michael Kranish has worked for the Boston Globe for more than 20 years, including the last 16 in the newspaper's Washington bureau. He is coauthor of, 'John Kerry the Complete Biography' published this year by Public Affairs." ..... [snip]

"Yesterday, reached at his home, Elliott said he regretted signing the affidavit and said he still thinks Kerry deserved the Silver Star. I still don't think he shot the guy in the back,' Elliott said. 'It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words.'"

aruanan: Is the above a quote from Kranish's Boston Globe story?

Yes:

Rush: ..."It's a story in the Boston Globe .. written by .. Michael Kranish..:

Kranish: "Veteran Retracts Criticism of Kerry – The week after Kerry heralded his wartime experience by surrounding himself at the convention with his Vietnam band of brothers a separate group of veterans has launched a TV ad and I book that questions the basis for some of Kerry's combat medals but yesterday a key figure in the anti-Kerry campaign, Kerry's former commanding officer..."

Rush: Wait a minute. Former commanding officer? I thought these guys "didn't serve with Kerry." I thought Democrats were putting out this BS that they didn't serve with Kerry; they weren't in his boat. Commanding officer! Sit tight, folks. Just stick with me on this.

Kranish: "Kerry's former commanding officer, backed off one of the key contentions. Lieutenant Commander George Elliott said in an interview that he had made a 'terrible mistake' in signing an affidavit that suggests Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star -- one of the main allegations in the book. The affidavit was given to the Boston Globe by the anti-Kerry group to justify assertions in their ad and book. Elliott is quoted as saying that Kerry 'lied about what occurred in Vietnam . . . for example, in connection with his Silver Star, I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back.'

Yesterday, reached at his home, Elliott said he regretted signing the affidavit and said he still thinks Kerry deserved the Silver Star. 'I still don't think he shot the guy in the back,' Elliott said. 'It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words. I'm the one in trouble here.'" [end of Kranish quote]

Rush: Later in this story, Elliot makes it plain that the other guys in the ad and in the book are not lying. He doesn't know that they're lying. This led to a statement today put out by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. You can see the statement at the Drudge Report. ...

Here's how I imagine that Kranish got his quote:

Kranish: Mr. Elliot, is it true that in the Swift Boat Vets affidavit you signed you claimed you signed John Kerry's application for the Silver Star and also that at the time based on the information you knew then you thought he deserved it?

Elliot: That's right. I signed it.

Kranish: If things had actually happened just as you thought they had originally, would you still be saying now that you think he probably deserved it?"

Elliot: If things had happened just like that, probably. And somebody may still say, "Hey, I still don't think he shot the guy in the back." But it didn't happen that way.

Kranish: So, in light of what you've since learned in my book about John Kerry shooting the single, wounded, fleeing Viet Cong, how would you characterize your decision to sign it?

Elliot: It was a terrible mistake. I regret having signed it.

Kranish, writing for the Globe, and recreating Elliot's response based on Kranish's switching the subject of "it" and his already demonstrated method of selective quoting:
"Yesterday, reached at his home, Elliott said he regretted signing the affidavit and said he still thinks Kerry deserved the Silver Star. I still don't think he shot the guy in the back,' Elliott said. 'It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words.'"

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August 07, 2004

Kranish Is Cooked