Spun Out
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In the course of performing the post mortems on their campaign, the Kerrion have managed to convince themselves that their nominee merely underestimated the effect that the Swift Boat Veterans' claims would have on his candidacy ---as though it were just a tactical error not to respond more quickly and completely. Of course, this is bullshit. The truth is that John Kerry could never have responded in such a way as to avoid the pressure to release his full military service record.

Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill's "admission" that she underestimated the impact of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is disingenuous, says a producer of the TV ads that helped sink the Massachusetts senator's presidential candidacy.

Rick Reed, a partner with media firm Stevens Reed Curcio and Potholm, said the "idea that Kerry's people miscalculated the impact of the ads is absurd."

"Senator Kerry's problem was that he never addressed one question or issue raised in the ads," Reed said. "This is because there was no good answer. Everything said about Kerry in the ads was accurate, but the Kerry campaign put all its effort into trying to discredit the ads, which didn't work."

Kerry's traumatized supporters also persist with the lie that the Swift Boat Veterans' claims were all debunked. In fact, it was Kerry's claims that were debunked or went unsubstantiated ---mostly because he refused to authorize the release of his full service record. Kerry never went into Cambodia as he says he did, nor did he ever explain how he was able to procure his first Purple Heart when he was initially refused that honor by his immediate superiors. (He only got it later by going around their backs.) Kerry's story behind his Bronze Star is also very suspect, including the bullshit claim that he and his boat were under intense enemy fire for over three miles downstream ---and back--- following the mine explosion that damaged another one of the Swift Boats in his group on the Bay Hap River in March 1969.

It is also quite probable that John Kerry did not receive an honorable discharge from the Navy ---another reason to believe that he had something to hide by keeping his record sealed. Did this have something to do with his meetings with the enemy outside of Paris while he was still an officer in the United States Navy? Who would be surprised to learn that?

Never mind this garbage about underestimating the vicious attacks of those awful Republican-paid operatives. John Kerry lied about his service record. Not only that, he then tried to use it to batter the President by portraying himself as some wonderful hero whose experiences as a combat veteran somehow made him a better choice to be the Commander-in-Chief. That wasn't a tactical error ---it was a strategic error.