$25m ad campaign showcases Kerry's careerPage 2 of 3 -- "I owe my life to John Kerry; he owes his life to me. We're brothers in arms because of the special bond that we had, all of us, on the boat crews," said former crewmember Del Sandusky, who speaks in one of the commercials. The other crew member, Drew Whitlow of Arkansas, countered the questions about Kerry's straightforwardness, saying: "After a briefing, you always knew what you were going to do. Unlike other officers, you knew where you were going to go, you knew what you always wanted to do. He never deceived you, you were never lied to, and he was always truthful."
A third veteran, James Rassmann of Oregon, an Army special forces member whom Kerry rescued in Vietnam, testifies to his leadership in one of the commercials: "When he pulled me out of the river, he risked his life to save mine." The two spots, at 60 seconds twice the length of a standard campaign commercial, make the point that the longtime Massachusetts resident was born in Denver, a fact that also dovetails with the campaign's hope of winning in Colorado. Each ad will not only air in 17 battleground states largely centered in the Midwest, but also Colorado and Louisiana, states Bush won handily in 2000. One of the ads also says that Kerry "had a lot of privileges," such as attending Yale University, and wanted "to give something back" to the country. After college, Kerry volunteered for Vietnam, while Bush-- also a Yale graduate -- enrolled in the Texas Air National Guard and expressly requested not to be assigned overseas. The Kerry ads do not mention Bush's military record. "This is John Kerry's story. In John Kerry's story, you go from Yale to enlisting and volunteering in Vietnam," Kerry media consultant Michael Donilon told reporters assembled for a preview of the ads, which will run on local TV and national cable stations through the end of the month. The news conference scheduled today in opposition to Kerry is being organized by a group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Three of Kerry's former commanding officers who said they plan to attend the conference said in interviews yesterday that they were not directed by any Republican organization. Their displeasure with Kerry stems in part from statements that he made in 1971 as a leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. For example, Kerry said on NBC's "Meet The Press" that the men who designed a policy of free-fire zones, in which anyone violating a curfew could be killed, were "war criminals." Some of the policies that Kerry complained about were the responsibility of Roy Hoffmann, who as a Navy captain oversaw swift boats in Vietnam and is the principal organizer of the group opposing Kerry. "Senator Kerry is not fit to be the commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States," Hoffmann said, stating what he said would be the theme of the news conference. Continued... |
