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.”
John Kerry’s response was slow to come, but he eventually agreed. He was speaking at the Spectrum in South Philadelphia. With any luck, he would get some coverage of a sound bite or two. I suspected that my butting in like this was going to get him all the coverage he could ask for!
Doing this quietly was difficult. Philly was close enough that I could take Marine One up. I told Brewster, Ari, and Josh — and no one else. Those three I swore to secrecy. None of them were amused. It would be vastly simpler to stay out of it, let the Swift Boat Vets do their thing, and take whatever lumps came our way. I was taking a big chance with this, and professional politicians don’t like taking chances. Josh simply shook his head and sent the War Wagons and the rest of the zoo to overnight in Philadelphia. Brewster would drive up with them; Ari, Josh, Marilyn, and I would fly up in the morning.
Marilyn was quiet while I told the others what I was doing. Afterwards, she came to me and sat down sideways on my lap. “They’re wrong. I understand why you are doing this, and I think you are right.”
I put my arms around her waist. “You do, huh? So why am I doing this? Even I’m not sure I should be doing it.”
“You’re doing it because you’re an honorable man and you are ashamed of what is happening. I am proud of you.”
I snorted out a laugh at that. “Marilyn, I am many things, but an honorable man is somewhere way down the list.”
“You are always too hard on yourself.”
“And you are always too idealistic.” I hugged her and added. “Maybe I’m just trying to live up to your expectations.”
“Well, I’m still proud of you.” She gave me a kiss that made me think tonight might be interesting.
We flew out in the morning, a little before the normal daily press briefing. Ari’s deputy, Will Brucis gave the briefing, and was simply told that if anybody raised any questions about where we were flying to, to simply reply it was a campaign event. Under no circumstance was he to say more than ‘a campaign event’, and since he didn’t know what I was up to, he couldn’t speculate anyway. To be fair, nobody would really know what was happening until the evening news showed anyway, so even if the reporters found out, it was too late for them to yap about it.
This was a very low key and quiet trip, so when we landed at the Philadelphia airport there were no brass bands and politicians to greet me. We landed, the limo came out to the helicopter, and we got in. Fifteen minutes later we were sneaking in through a back entrance. It was easy to know where to go, since Senator Kerry had Secret Service protection just like I did. One of his agents greeted us and took us inside.
The look on some of the Senator’s aides’ faces was priceless. It was as if they were witnessing Darth Vader coming to talk to Luke Skywalker. I whispered to Marilyn that a few of them seemed to be holding up crosses so as to ward off evil. My wife giggled at that and told me to behave. Brewster was already present, and you could see the eyes on him as well, worried that he might brush against somebody and suck their thoughts and plans out by skin-to-skin osmosis. He came over to greet us, and a Kerry staffer came up and asked me to follow him to see the Senator.
John was using a back room as a conference room for his people, but he was the only one present. I had known Kerry ever since I had gotten into Congress, dating all the way back to my first bill, on Gulf War Syndrome. He had been one of the co-sponsors, just like almost every other veteran in the House and Senate.
“Good afternoon, Mister President,” he told me.
“Thank you for letting me come, Senator.”
Kerry looked at his staffer and said, “I won’t need you for a few minutes, Tim. I’d like to speak to President Buckman for a bit.”
“Senator, you…” The staffer’s eyes flicked back and forth between us, as he faltered in his speech. “You are scheduled to speak in half an hour.”
“I’ll be ready then.” He politely showed the young man out the door and shut it behind him. Then he gestured towards a couple of chairs. “Please be seated.”