Bush Tolerates Smear Campaign.

A group of veterans have launched a media blitz featuring a host of wholly unsubstantiated and largely discredited charges against Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) which call into question his record of honorable military service in Vietnam. In particular, the group -- called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) -- is airing an ad featuring 13 men who never served with Kerry [more]calling him a liar and alleging that he did not deserve the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and two of his three Purple Hearts. The allegations contradict all of Kerry's crewmates [more]who are still living, medical records
[more] and an independent investigation by historian Douglas Brinkley . Sen. John McCain -- who was similarly smeared by false charges during his 2000 campaign [more] that he fathered an out-of-wedlock black child -- called the group's advertisement " dishonest and dishonorable [more] ." But asked specifically whether Bush would join McCain in condemning the ad, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan demurred [more].

• KEY MEMBER OF SBVT ADMITS HE WAS LYING: A key member of SBVT, Kerry's former commanding officer George Elliot, admitted to the Washington Post that his affidavit suggesting Kerry did not deserve the silver star was " a terrible mistake ." Elliot appears in the SBVT advertisement and says, "John Kerry has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam." SBVT provided Elliot's repudiated affidavit as the support of that statement. [more] and [more]
• Ranting Under the Radar [more]