Politics got very ugly that summer. As the old saying goes, protect me from my friends, because I can take care of my enemies all on my own. On August 14 a television ad ran, from an outfit calling itself the 'Swift Boat Veterans For Truth', claiming that John Kerry was dishonest and lied about his service in the Navy, and hadn't been fit to command a 'Swift Boat', one of the small river patrol craft in Viet Nam, and was unfit to command as the President. It was run in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida, all states with a close race. The group claimed that they had served with Kerry, on his boat, in combat, and that he had never actually earned the medals he had received.
John McCain looked me up in my office the next day and asked, "Have you seen the ad?" He didn't have to specify which ad. It was the only one being talked about in Washington that day.
I grimaced. I remembered the controversy from my first go through. "Ari had it cued up for me this morning. It's not technically something the President has to do anything about, since it is campaign related, but he figured that there would be questions."
"What'd you tell him to say?"
"What's your take, John? You were Navy, even if you flew off the boats instead of sailing around on them."
He flopped down in a chair across from me. "I think it's disgusting. A bunch of armchair admirals, probably none of whom were anywhere near the war, telling us how it should have been fought. You?"
I nodded. "I'm just glad I was young enough to miss out on the whole thing. I can't say anything bad about you fellows who served, but that was one screwed up war, and you know it."
"So, what did you tell Ari?", he asked.
"I told him to say that while I had no knowledge of the ad or of the group that paid for it, I trusted the officers who commanded Lieutenant J.G. Kerry and recommended him for his medals. I figured that sounded both statesmanlike and neutral."
"That won't end it, Carl. This is going to keep going, and then Kerry is going to go after your service history and mine, tit for tat. I didn't spend seven years in Hanoi so that it could be run down in a campaign ad. You have your own skeletons to keep buried, too."
I snorted at that and agreed. "Do me a favor. Call Ed Gillespie and find out who this Swift Boat bunch is, and what their plans are."
He stood and said, "And you figure out what you are going to do about it if they keep going." I nodded agreement.
By that night I got the word from Brewster that the Swift Boat Vets were a 527 Group, so named for a section of the Internal Revenue Code that allowed political organizations to qualify for tax exempt status while raising money, as long as they didn't advocate for somebody and spent the money on issue education. As long as they didn't say 'Vote for Buckman' they could say any damn thing they wanted about Kerry and claim it was legal and protected tax exempt free speech.
John was right about this, in that if I couldn't shut this down, it was going to bite us all on the ass. John's service before he got shot down was not the stuff of legend. He had been a rebellious son and grandson of admirals and had graduated from the Naval Academy ranked 894 out of 899. As for me, I had already enjoyed the press pawing over my Nicaraguan adventure, and I had no interest in reliving it. I asked Brew and Ed to shut this thing down as soon as possible.
I was informed the next afternoon that the Swift Boat Vets did not plan to stop. They considered what they were up to a good idea and planned several more advertisements, along with books and interviews. Ed got the plans from some of the group's leaders, and when he suggested this might backfire by bringing back my problems, they didn't care. They figured the damage to Kerry would be worse than any collateral damage I might see, so I should tough it out. Brewster talked to several of the members. Most of them actually had no personal knowledge of Senator Kerry's actions in the war, but thought his actions afterwards, testifying about the war before Congress and such, were bad.
A second ad was scheduled for Friday, August 20, although for legal reasons the group couldn't directly reveal the ad's contents. Brewster managed a different tactic. If the 527 group wouldn't talk to us, maybe the production company that created the ad would. Brewster tracked them down and discovered the ad would include some rather questionable 'true statements' from supposed members of Kerry's crew. Fact checking was decidedly not part of the production company's mandate. Great!
John McCain was as disgusted with this as I was, and an informal poll I had among some of the other Cabinet level vets pretty much agreed with me. As far as the various campaigns were concerned, everybody had predictable reactions. The Kerry campaign was complaining about how the Buckman campaign was playing fast and loose with the truth, and how this was not something that should be expected of a President or decorated veteran. Meanwhile, the Buckman campaign was saying that they had nothing to do with the Swift Boat Vets, and they couldn't control what dedicated veterans were saying.
I decided I had to nip this in the bud before it got any bigger. I picked up the phone and asked to be connected to John Kerry. The White House switchboard didn't seem fazed by the request, but there was considerable surprise at the receiving end of the call. I didn't get to the Senator, but it was reported back that he was in a meeting and asked if he could return the call. I requested a private call that evening. He called me shortly after 8:00 that evening.
"Thank you for calling me, Senator Kerry. I appreciate it."
"It's my pleasure, Mister President. How can I help you?"
"First, let me say that I am personally quite distressed by the ad about your naval service. I want to assure you that I find these ads as distressing as I am sure you do, and that I have nothing to do with them. I apologize for any pain they may be causing you or your family."
Kerry answered, "Thank you, Mister President. I appreciate that, but I think that the best apology would be to arrange for the ads to stop. You may not have personally ordered them, but it is you now who seems to be benefiting from them."
I sighed. "I am afraid that may be true, unfortunately I am in no position to order the ads to be pulled. As you are certainly aware, I have no contact with groups like this, and can only request they end them by way of a liaison. I have made the request, but it seems likely the ads will continue."
"Mister President, I appreciate your personal apology, but that isn't going to be much help otherwise."
"I agree, sir. My understanding is that you will be speaking in Philadelphia tomorrow."
That seemed to surprise him. "Yes, at a regional meeting of the Veterans of Foreign Wars."
"John, with your permission I wish to join you tomorrow. I will issue a statement disavowing these ads and repudiating them. I would appreciate you standing by my side. Afterwards I will leave and you can continue with your meeting. I think this is the only way we can put this behind us.", I told him.
I could pretty much imagine the look on his face at hearing this, and I could also see the wheels turning in his head. In speaking to a veterans' group he was attempting to shore up his military credentials and foreign policy experience with a group that historically voted Republican. Did he allow me to speak, and possibly turn them against him, or say no and risk being rude to a sitting President in front of an unfriendly audience? After a silent minute he responded, "Of course, Mister President, if you feel that would be helpful."
"I think I need to do this, Senator. I do ask that you keep this quiet. I will meet you prior to your speech, and show you the statement I plan to give, but I don't want or need the grief I would get between now and then. I know it's a lot to ask, but I think I would trust your personal assurance over that of some of our political assistants."