Busy day

Today was a busy day. Max Cleland and James Rassmann flew to President Bush's Crawford, TX ranch to present him with a letter asking him to put a stop to the Swiftvet ads, claiming that "..if one veteran's record is called into question, the service of all American veterans is questioned." (Max Cleland lost both legs and an arm because he picked up a live grenade and it went off. Cleland didn't even get a Purple Heart because there was no battle with an enemy occuring at the time - hear that John Kerry?)

One wonders if any of the signatories recognize the hypocrisy of this statement. John Kerry's anti-war efforts in 1971 specifically condemned not only all enlisted military but the entire chain of command. Furthermore, it would be illegal for Bush to attempt to stop the ads.

Fully prepared for this pusillanimous photo op, Republican veterans handed Max Cleland a letter signed by, among others, two Medal of Honor winners, which read in part, "You can't have it both ways. You can't build your convention and much of your campaign around your service in Vietnam, and then try to say that only those veterans who agree with you have a right to speak up. There is no double standard for our right to free speech. We all earned it."

In related news, the Swiftvets' attorney, Benjamin Ginsberg, resigned from the Bush campaign, because he has been giving legal advice to the Swiftvets. Ginsberg's resignation letter to Bush stated that "while his actions were completely legal and no different than what Democratic lawyers have done for anti-Bush organizations, the imbroglio is taking too much focus away from substantial campaign issues." Even Democrats conceded that there was nothing wrong with an attorney serving in both roles. (They would have to admit that or ask all of theirs to resign as well, wouldn't they.)

The Swiftvets' book, Unfit For Command has been flying off the shelves so fast that the publishers can't keep up, and Kerry is seeing his support erode in many places, including Arizona, where independents seem to be deserting Kerry in large numbers.

Kerry may whine and complain, but the Swiftvets aren't going away and neither is the ample evidence of his lies.