New "Swift Vets for LIES" ad
I just watched the new ad from the Swift Boat Vets for LIES. In a way, I think it's the most powerful one yet. It makes no wild or sensational allegations against Kerry's service or record. Instead, the camera simply pans slowly and steadily across the solemn faces of the vets, several rows deep, for 60 seconds, while a voiceover describes these men, their records, their achievements, and their purpose.
Now we all know that John O'Neill is a lying sleazeball.
We all know that O'Neill is a highly partisan Bush hack.
We all know that some of the Swift Vets for LIES have reported being "misled" into participating, or having their names used without their consent.
But what is the Kerry camp's explanation for this latest ad?
Are they all liars? All of these men?
Are they all rabidly anti-Kerry hyper-partisan Republicans?
Have they all been duped into taking part in this?
Are they cardboard cutouts?
Have they been Photoshopped in?
Is it trick photography?
Democrats can slander O'Neill all they want to. They can focus on anecdotal accounts of some vets' claims that they were misled by the group. But at the end of the day, many more Swift Boat veterans stand against Kerry than for him, and this spot drives that point home like a nail.