Free Republic

While tar baby can be used as a racist attack on black people, it isn't used that way in any of these examples. John Kerry used it in the same manner as John McCain and Mitt Romney. I, for the first time, find myself coming to the defense of John Kerry. He isn't racist because of what he said here (but he is still an elitist windbag.) The fact is this: You are being played, and those playing you for a fool rely on your ignorance. Pick up a copy of "The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus" by Joel Chandler...

At first glance you are inclined to think that Obama may really have a shot at flipping Virginia into the Blue column for the first time since 1964. Juicy headline; fresh new politician; Hope (at least by the WaPo) . . .. You get the picture. "Daring Democrat Nominee dares to go after the Old Dominion, Dems in charge of the state, Changing Demographics." Where have we heard this before? Oh yeah, John Kerry said the EXACT same thing in June 2004. But, but . . . Obama is new, fresh and full of . . .

FOUR YEARS ago, Democrats couldn't laud military service - especially that of their presidential standard-bearer - highly enough. John Kerry's short stint in Vietnam was repeatedly invoked as evidence of his character and fitness for leadership. "If you have any question about what John Kerry's made of," his running mate John Edwards would say, "just spend three minutes with the men who served with him 30 years ago." At the Democratic National Convention in Boston, photographs of Kerry's Navy days abounded - Kerry posing with his officer class, Kerry on the Mekong Delta, Kerry receiving a medal. One of the...

In the decades since they shared a prison cell in North Vietnam, George "Bud" Day has remained a close friend of Republican John McCain and emerged as a staunch opponent of Democrats seeking the presidency. As he did in 2004, when he took the lead in questioning Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's Vietnam War record, Day is eager this fall to do whatever he can to retain the White House for the Republicans _ especially this Republican. "I just want everyone to understand the difference between a board-certified physician and a student in medical school, because that is the difference,"...

Perhaps John Kerry and the New York Times should have adhered to the old adage to let sleeping dogs lie. It appears the Times' Kate Zernike used Kerry campaign talking points rather than the facts in her breathless account of how the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth "smeared" John Kerry over his Vietnam record during the 2004 presidential campaign. In her 1,283-word "Veterans Fight to Reclaim the Name 'Swift Boat,'" Zernike came across as a Kerry campaign spokesman rather than as an independent journalist.

SWIFT BOAT KERRY AIN’T SO SWIFT Senator John Forbes Kerry (D-MA), much like Senator Charlie Camera-Lovin’ Schumer (D-NY), loves the limelight. After floating trial baloons that he would be a good pick as Senator John McCain’s VP nominee in 2004, (GASP!), it seems he’s finally discovered that he has as good a shot at that as has as his second wife, Teresa Simões-Ferreira Heinz Kerry. Still in his four year old snit at being rebuffed, on Sunday he went on CBS’ Deface the Nation, as Rush Limbaugh calls that show, and defamed his wannabe 2004 running mate in typical, sniveling...

WASHINGTON (AP) - John Kerry says Republican John McCain doesn't have the judgment to be president. If that's the case, then it's probably a good thing McCain rejected overtures from Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, to form a bipartisan ticket and run with Kerry as his candidate for vice president. Kerry had no kind words his Senate colleague Sunday, accusing McCain of poor decision-making on everything from backing tax cuts for the wealthy to making support for continuing the U.S. military presence in Iraq the centerpiece of his presidential campaign. "John McCain ... has proven that he has...

Kerry: McCain's Judgment Is Dangerous WASHINGTON, July 6, 2008(CBS) Sen. John Kerry believes that the presumptive Republican nominee for president is adhering to the Bush Administration orthodoxy in ways that call into question his carefully-nurtured image as a political maverick. "John McCain has changed in profound and fundamental ways that I find personally really surprising, and frankly upsetting," the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts said on CBS' Face The Nation. "This is a different John McCain. This is not the Senator John McCain; this is want-to-be president John McCain. "And the result is that John McCain has flip-flopped on more issues...

Re: "swiftboating" From StreetInsider.com, July 3, 2008: "The 'Swiftboating' slogan is used by leftist politicians and members of the old media to smear the Swift Vets and other anti-Kerry veterans as liars. The truth is that they were effective because they supported their charges with evidence. A second goal of this tactic is to preempt any criticism of Sen. Obama and the other Democrats they are trying to elect - however accurate and relevant such criticism may be," said Scott Swett, the primary author of To Set the Record Straight. Source: Authors of New Book on Swift Boat Veterans for...

The New York Times published an article Monday about the anger some Vietnam veterans feel over the vessel they used to serve on, Swift Boat, now being synonymous with "the nastiest of campaign smears." In dredging up this issue, Times' writer Kate Zernike not only misrepresented many of the facts surrounding the claims made by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, but also completely ignored the mainstream media's role in turning the name of this patrol craft into a political pejorative. In fact, something the Times conveniently chose not to share with its readers was how one of its own...

FALLS CHURCH, Va., July 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the Presidential campaign heats up, John Kerry and various members of the liberal media continue to wrongly use the term "Swiftboating" as a shorthand reference for false attacks on a candidate's record. Kate Zernike recently demonstrated the tactic in the New York Times: "Swift boat" has become the synonym for the nastiest of campaign smears, a shadow that hangs over the presidential race as pundits wait to proclaim that the Swiftboating has begun and candidates declare that they will not be Swiftboated. In To Set the Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans,...

FLASHBACK: Wesley Clark, Then and Now. Plus, dodging missiles. [videos]

AN INCIDENT ON THE BAY HAP RIVER Instead of "No Man Left Behind," the true story of that day is "One Man Left." — John O’Neill A war hero candidate On January 17, 2004, two days before the crucial Iowa Democratic primary, the Kerry campaign staged a dramatic “reunion” between the candidate and Jim Rassmann, a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer who said Kerry had saved his life in Vietnam 35 years before. The tearful meeting of the two men was presented as spontaneous, though the campaign had paid Rassmann’s way to Des Moines and informed NBC anchor Tom...

John Kerry fought a war, and I respect him for that. And he came home to fight a peace. And I respect him for that, too. (APPLAUSE) John Kerry’s combination of physical courage and moral values is my definition of what we need as Americans in our commander in chief. And John Edwards with his leadership and extraordinary intelligence, he’s going to be a great member of that command team.

Correction Appended Years ago, when William Miller talked about being in the Vietnam War — if he talked about being in the Vietnam War — he would tell people he served on a Swift boat. At least now they have heard of it. But not in the way he would like. “I was proud of what I did, and all the guys I was with,” Mr. Miller said. “Now somebody says ‘Swift boat’ and it’s a whole different meaning. They don’t associate it with the guys we lost. That’s a shame.” “Swift boat” has become the synonym for the nastiest...

It's common to see mentions in the press these days about some "swiftboating" of Barack Obama that is allegedly in the works, or might someday allegedly be in the works, or might someday be thought to be allegedly in the works. While I'm sure there will be some hit jobs on Obama — this is a presidential campaign, after all — this talk seems to be based on a fundamental misunderstanding, perhaps willful in some cases, of the swiftboat episode in the 2004 campaign. The swiftboat veterans in that year were the officers who served alongside John Kerry in Vietnam....

Early in the 2004 presidential campaign, a group of over 250 Combat Tested and Highly Decorated Viet Nam Veterans banded together with one goal in mind, stop one of their own from ever attaining the highest office in the land. Initially ignored as a mere nuisance, the group persevered and their words of betrayal by Senator John F. Kerry upon his return from a short 4 month tour in Viet Nam, versus the more regular 12 month or longer, began to spread. Other Veterans of Viet Nam and other conflicts began to hear of the groups words and migrated to...

OK when do we hold JANE FONDA accountable for shooting her idiot mouth off and causing so many of the worlds biggest problems? Look how many died in Vietnam after we pulled out? She was instrumental in deceiving the US. Her and John Kerry (did you know he was in Vietnam?) who was there for 3 months, got 3 purple hearts, and "committed atrocities" And how about that stupid "China Syndrome" movie that convinced us all how EEEEEEEeeevil nuclear power was? We could have been a lot less dependant on foreign oil, and needed 2 less Gulf Wars (its all...

Obama advisers say bin Laden can appeal to U.S. civilian courts Barack Obama has expressed support for the Supreme Court’s decision in favor of civilian prosecution of terrorism suspects, and his advisers said Tuesday that if Osama bin Laden were captured, he too should face civilian prosecution. – AP Bill Sammon, The Examiner 2008-06-18 07:00:00.0 Current rank: # 13 of 6,452 WASHINGTON - Barack Obama’s foreign policy advisers said Tuesday that Osama bin Laden, if captured, should be allowed to appeal his case to U.S. civilian courts, a privilege opposed by John McCain. Responding to questions from The Examiner, Sen....

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama learned an important lesson from the 2004 presidential campaign: Don’t be passive about false rumors. When Democratic nominee and Vietnam War veteran John Kerry, who served with distinction in the U.S. Navy and won multiple Purple Hearts for wounds in battle, was attacked for a lack of patriotism, his campaign was slow to respond. Obama won’t be so passive. The scurrilous attack on Kerry, largely funded by Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, a Republican Party sugar daddy, was outlandish. A group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth posted the ads, coining a new term for dirty...

They both ran for the White House, though one got closer—much closer—than the other. They both sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with their junior colleague Barack Obama. And if the Illinois senator is elected president in November, they both apparently would like to be his secretary of State. A source close to Massachusetts' John Kerry, who asked for anonymity when discussing the senator's political aspirations, says the Foreign Relations Committee's third-ranking Democrat (and 2004 presidential runner-up) is keen to be the nation's top diplomat.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, who was the Democratic nominee for president in 2004, is leaving the door open - a crack - that he would accept his party's nomination for vice president this year.

Senator Kerry accused John McCain of being confused today stating McCain “confuses the history going back to 682 of what has happened to Sunni and Shia.” Well now I am confused Senator, exactly what was the significance of the year 682? Could it be that Senator Kerry was confused himself when making that statement? As Michael Goldfarb points out the year Senator Kerry actually meant was 632: Among the accusations he leveled this morning, Senator Kerry said Senator McCain “confuses the history going back to 682 of what has happened to Sunni and Shia.” Now, we at the McCain Report...

If you're going to promise "new politics," it would probably be wise to eschew the same old Beltway cronies and insiders who have served presidential nominees of yore. And if you're going to attack political opponents for playing "textbook Washington games," it would probably be best not to play them yourself. If you do, you'll end up tongue-tied in front of the cameras, hung by your own holier-than-thou rhetoric and faced once again with the decision to throw another bad choice under the bus. Yes, Barack Obama, we're talking about you. Again. It's getting mighty crowded under that bus, isn't...

It's Time to Talk to Syria By JOHN KERRY and CHUCK HAGEL June 5, 2008; Page A19 After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, President George H.W. Bush did the improbable and convinced Syrian President Hafez Assad to join an American-led coalition against a fellow Baathist regime. Today, these leaders' sons have another chance for a diplomatic breakthrough that could redefine the strategic landscape in the Middle East. The recent announcement of peace negotiations between Israel and Syria through Turkey, and the agreement between the Lebanese factions in Qatar – both apparently without meaningful U.S. involvement – should serve as a...

Barack Obama: Next in a long line of Democrat fabulists (Updated) By Christopher Cook During the 2000 election season, Hugh Hewitt did us all a great service. He made a recording in which he listed the many lies and fabulations of Al Gore. He recited the list, with calm and focus, to the tune of Maurice Ravel's Bolero. It was funny, chilling, and powerfully effective. I made a recording of it from the radio, using my micro-cassette recorder. The quality of the recording is not ideal—my micro-cassette recorder was the only thing I had within quick reach—but it is nonetheless...

Publisher Peter Osnos, who admits to personally working with former Bush White House press secretary Scott McClellan on his new book, What Happened, began his career as an assistant to I.F. Stone, the pro-communist "journalist" named as a Soviet agent of influence who was the uncle of Weather Underground communist terrorist Kathy Boudin. But the connections don't end there. Boudin's son Chesa was raised by Barack Obama associates Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, who were Boudin's comrades in the communist terrorist group, after Kathy Boudin went to prison for her involvement in an armed robbery and assault that took the...

David Plouffe and a series of big gun endorsers are holding a conference call to stress the scale of last night's victory. "He clearly did more than he had to and she did not achieve what she had to," said Senator John Kerry. Both Plouffe and Kerry stressed the importance of the Limbaugh Effect. "Rush Limbaugh was tampering with the primary," Kerry said "If it was not for Republicans taking Democratic ballots, he would have won," he said of Obama. (I'm not sure that's true. The margin was about 18,500; Clinton only got 54% of the Republican votes, which made...

When's the last time you heard the MSM talk about a Republican being hit by the "Democrat attack machine"? Scratch that. Have you ever heard the MSM talk about a Republican being hit by the "Democrat attack machine"? Neither have I. But fretting about impending Republican "swiftboating" of the Dem presidential candidate is an MSM staple, and we saw a good example of it on this morning, right down to an image of John Kerry in uniform. Oh, and Hillary Clinton sees herself like a modern-day Ginger Rogers. Ann Curry had a chance to interview both Dem candidates recently, and...

April 20, 2008 Redefining 'Swiftboating' and Rewriting History By Henry P. Wickham, Jr. If the words "swift" and "boat" must be combined and turned into a verb, then let us insist on its proper use. The word as a verb originates from the campaign undertaken in 2004 by the Swift Boat Veterans in response to the John Kerry presidential candidacy. The word means, or should mean, the exposure of a fraudulent autobiography of one seeking political office or public influence. It is the correction of a personal and professional record that has been selectively and dishonestly compiled, as the Swift...

And ad in yesterday's Boston Globe--and on the web, see link--by MA Senate candidate Jim Ogonowski heartily congratulates the man he's trying to unseat, John Kerry, on his ineffectiveness. The print ad asks people to send it to Kerry's HQ! "Congratulations John! It's been 9 years since you passed a bill on your own! Great job on being so ineffective!" The web ad shows a picture of a mansion on Nantucket (one of Kerry's five) along with Kerry windsurfing. A Heinz ketchup bottle marks the passage of time. Ogonowski ran against the widow of Paul Tsongas for Martin Meehan's congressional...

Republican Jeff Beatty spent his Friday night talking politics over cocktails in Fall River. Democrat Ed O'Reilly has been laying the groundwork for his campaign for more than a year. more stories like thisAnd this week, Republican Jim Ogonowski plans to make 36 campaign stops from North Adams to Chatham in an effort to lift his campaign and his adrenaline: 30 of the stops are for coffee. Six months before the primary, the candidates are all hoping to gain momentum for a Herculean task: unseating John F. Kerry from his US Senate seat. "There is an extra challenge to going...

LANSDOWNE, Pa. - Sen. John Kerry reached out to veterans here on Barack Obama's behalf Saturday, saying he believes Obama is more prepared to be commander in chief than Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were when they took office. Kerry told the crowd he did not think Obama would be victimized by GOP attacks the way he was in 2004 by the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." Kerry took responsibility for not fighting the Swift Boat assaults more effectively, but he said advisors, including Bill Clinton, suggested he not defend himself aggressively. "We didn't lose to them, I didn't lose...

In an interview with me this morning, senior Hillary adviser Harold Ickes confirmed that Reverend Jeremiah Wright is a key topic in discussions with uncommitted super-delegates over whether Obama is electable in a general election. The comments from Ickes, who is Hillary's chief delegate hunter, are to my knowledge the first on-the-record confirmation from a Hillary adviser that the Wright controversy is a subject in conversations between the Hillary campaign and the super-delegates her advisers are trying to win over to Hillary's side. In the wide-ranging interview, Ickes also: * Said that it was possible that Hillary forces on the...

A shadow legal body was set up by the Defense Department to manipulate the prosecutions of U.S. Marines accused of massacring Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005. That’s the bombshell disclosure from the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm that is representing one of the accused Marines, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani. And it could prove to be the most damning piece of evidence showing the political motivations behind the ongoing prosecutions of the Haditha Marines. “The hysteria and media firestorm over Abu Ghraib and the Pat Tillman investigations led to fear of a similar media reaction...

McCain Almost Left the GOP -- Twice March 24, 2008 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT Senator McCain has not wrapped up the Chuck Hagel endorsement yet, and I wanted to mention this to you. Hagel was on This Week with Stephanopoulos on Sunday, and Stephanopoulos said to him, "Senator McCain is a good friend of yours. Why haven't you endorsed him?" HAGEL: When I work for someone or commit to someone, I want to be behind that person in every way I can. I've obviously got some differences with John on the Iraq war. That's no secret. I want to understand a...

WASHINGTON -It is already easy to imagine the Republican attack ads against Barack Obama. They open with video of his wife, Michelle, saying she was proud of America "for the first time in my adult lifetime" because of her husband's presidential candidacy. Cut to the Illinois Senator explaining that he doesn't wear an American flag lapel pin because it is a "substitute for true patriotism." Then flash a clip of Obama explaining that his Caucasian grandmother was a "typical white person" because she uttered racial epithets and was afraid of black people. Finally, the coup de grace, pictures of Obama's...

Remember John Kerry? He was the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, lauded by his supporters for his intellect and his nuance, as compared with the simpleminded George W. Bush. Having lost the election, he decided to sit out the 2008 contest. He recently endorsed Barack Obama, and earlier this week he sat down with the editorial board of the Standard-Times (New Bedford, Mass.) to make the case for his candidate. Kerry said that a President Obama would help the US, in relations with Muslim countries, "in some cases go around their dictator leaders to the people and inspire the people in...

This is the idol that both Barack Obama --and-- Hillary Clinton both look up to! If you want to see the original just type the word "Lucifer" into Amazon's search window--GGG “Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins -- or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom -- Lucifer.” --Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals, 1971

Hot Air TV: Sen. John Kerry confronted about Winter Soldier II By Michelle Malkin • March 12, 2008 11:12 PM Grab the popcorn. We’ve got another joint YAF/Hot Air TV production for you, just in time for the anti-war confab known as “Winter Soldier II” that kicks off in Washington, D.C. tomorrow and runs through Sunday. YAF’s Jason Mattera, our intrepid special correspondent who cornered Jack Murtha in September, is back in the halls of Congress. This week, Jason caught up with the original Winter Soldier, Sen. John Kerry, and confronted him about his unsubstantiated, troop-smearing testimony. Jason also tried...

Embracing Earth Charter key to environmental salvation Author and U of A professor Colin Soskolne says humans need to smarten up. March 7, 2008 - Edmonton -- Human beings, laments Colin Soskolne, are a "seriously dumb species." Just what kind of defect drives us to destroy the very ecosystems that provide us with sustenance? Why do we turn away from mounting, irrefutable evidence that we are sabotaging our very existence?Such questions are asked in a new collection of essays, called Sustaining Life on Earth: Environmental and Human Health through Global Governance, edited by Soskolne, on the environment and human health."Our...

Supporters of Senator Barack Obama have suggested Senator Hillary Clinton bow out of the presidential nominating race if she doesn’t win in two big-state primary contests on Tuesday. Influential Democrats have said they need to put together a unifying campaign for the presidential election in November. Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont hold primary contests on Tuesday, and Clinton, having lost 11 straight contests, needs to win either Texas or Ohio. Clinton, will have to dramatically exceed the results predicted by polls, which now show Texas sentiment as virtually even. Ohio voters tend to narrowly favour Clinton. In the smaller...

One of the core charges that John Kerry’s media-aided campaign made in 2004 and since to delegitimize the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is that its leader John O’Neill, who had opposed Kerry in 1971, was a creation of Richard Nixon’s White House. I was there, and know better. Until now, the central purported prop for the charge went unrebutted. Charles “Chuck” Colson has now spoken up. It’s time for reputable media, and even Kerry’s advocates if they have any integrity, to cease this charge. Like a dime-novel legend, based on little, this charge has been frequently repeated and embellished...

Lessons Learned, Kerry Hits Trail for Obama By Peter Slevin Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, February 25, 2008; A04 DALLAS, Feb. 24 -- Sen. John F. Kerry is attending to some unfinished business. Four years ago, his bid to topple President Bush fell short, damaged by a series of Texas broadsides that became known as the Swift boat attacks. His demise spawned a term that came to signify a political low blow. Now Kerry has returned to the campaign trail, this time as a spirited foot soldier for Sen. Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat who aims to succeed where Kerry...

Senator Hillary Clinton, among others, has begun using “swiftboating” as a verb. Her use is courtesy of the New York Times. Now, with extreme and unintended irony, the Times has sought to “swiftboat” Senator John McCain, and has been swiftboated in return by its own ombudsman, To sort all that out, we go back to the beginning, so the original swiftboaters don’t get “swiftboated” in the bargain. Does that make sense? I thought not. Hang on and it will all become clear. The original swiftboaters were crews of Swift Boats in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. These were small, fast...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Helicopters carrying three senior U.S. senators made emergency landings Thursday in the mountains of Afghanistan because of a snowstorm. Sens. John Kerry, Joseph Biden and Chuck Hagel were aboard the aircraft. No one was injured, according a statement from Kerry's office. The senators and their delegation returned to Bagram Air Base in a motor convoy, and have left for Turkey. "After several hours, the senators were evacuated by American troops and returned overland to Bagram Air Base, and left for their next scheduled stop in Ankara, Turkey," the Kerry statement said. "Sen. Kerry thanks the American troops,...

"I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty." Who can forget this now-infamous July 29, 2004, Democratic National Convention acceptance speech when the party's nominee publicly set his course for the next few months? "At the heart of the 2004 presidential campaign was a long-deferred national debate over whether American troops had systematically committed war crimes in Vietnam, as John Kerry and other activists had insisted, and as Hollywood, the media and much of the American public had long assumed," begins Chapter One of To Set the Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John...

Barack Obama clobbered Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Potomac primaries Tuesday, but her Colorado superdelegates were still hanging tough behind her Wednesday. Certainly they saw the ugly numbers Tuesday night - especially out of Virginia - but the only math that seemed to matter to them at this point was what might happen in Texas and Ohio on March 4. That's the biggest day left on the primary calendar. Between them, Texas and Ohio have 389 delegates up for grabs. "It's too early to jump off any boats," said Maria Handley, a Boulder-based superdelegate...Handley is joined by Ramona Martinez and...

I posted a squib on the National Review Web site about a robo call I received from John McCain. (Virginia's primary is Tuesday.) The call stressed that he would, if elected, be a down-the-line limited government conservative who would never raise taxes, would defend life, would enforce immigration laws and would win the war on terror. The candidate is trying, I said, to meet conservatives "more than halfway." The response of readers was, shall we say, emphatic. One lady wrote that she would never vote for him as "He is the most disloyal, ill-tempered man and he brings out the...

Kerry’s courtship of Senator John McCain to be his running mate was longer-standing and more intense than previously reported. As far back as August 2003, Kerry had taken McCain to breakfast to sound him out to run on a unity ticket. McCain batted away the idea as not serious, but Kerry, after he wrapped up the nomination in March, went back after McCain a half-dozen more times. “To show just how sincere he was, he made an outlandish offer,” Newsweek’s Thomas reports. “If McCain said yes he would expand the role of vice president to include secretary of Defense and...