“Thank you, John. I hope this doesn’t put you behind your schedule. Perhaps I should have gotten here earlier.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. You said you were planning to read a statement. Was that all?”
I nodded. “I have no intention of high-jacking your speech. I just want to go out there, with you by my side, say what I have to say, and leave. No questions or answers,” I told him.
“Could I see your statement?” I nodded and handed it over. He read it several times, and looked thoughtfully off into a distance that I couldn’t see. Handing it back, he said, “Thank you. I would imagine that will cover everything.”
“Good. As I told you, I never wanted something like this, and I can’t seem to turn these jackasses off otherwise.”
We chatted about our families until there was a knock on the door. John called out for them to enter, and Tim came in and said, “It’s time, sir.”
We both stood up, and John said, “We’ll go out onstage together. I’ll go to the podium and introduce you, and then step back. Sound right?”
“Sounds fine.”
Out in the room with the others, Marilyn came up and shook the Senator’s hand, and then kissed me. “I am very proud of you,” she said quietly.
“Yeah? Then how come you keep voting Democrat?” I teased back. John laughed at that. I turned my wife over to the others. She would watch from off stage. Instead, I fell in after Kerry as he was led towards the stage.
I saw a lot of shocked and surprised faces on some of the VFW big shots as we neared the stage. I had to give credit to Kerry, though. This was a tough audience for him, medals or not.
The chief big shot was at the podium, and he must have been cued in on the upcoming festivities. We waited in the wings while he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce Senator John Kerry, the Democratic candidate for President, and President Carl Buckman, the Republican candidate.”
I followed the Senator out onto the stage. In the audience, there was massive consternation, although there was a lot of applause as well. When John’s name was first mentioned I had heard the beginning of some catcalls, but they shut down immediately as I was mentioned. John immediately went to the podium and said, “Thank you. It is always good to be here in Philadelphia, one of the true birthplaces of America. Before I say anything more, however, it is my privilege to introduce the President of the United States, President Carl Buckman.”
Kerry stepped back and I moved up to the podium. There was a fair bit of applause, but also an awful lot of confusion. I pulled out a copy of my speech from a jacket pocket and set it on the podium. We didn’t bother with a teleprompter, though one could have been made available, and instead simply had it printed double spaced with a big font. I waited a minute for everybody to settle down, and then began.
“I would like to thank Senator Kerry for graciously allowing me to speak to you today, and through you to the rest of the nation. This is a singularly appropriate venue because you, like the Senator, are veterans of a foreign war.
Several days ago a group calling themselves the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth began running a television ad claiming that Senator Kerry’s honorable service in the Navy during the Viet Nam War was anything but honorable. This group claims that Senator Kerry did not earn his medals, and never served in the places and times he claimed. I say to you now that these claims are false and misleading. John Kerry did indeed serve bravely under fire, was wounded multiple times, and earned the Bronze and Silver Stars awarded him in combat.
As you here in this room know, combat is never neat and pretty. It is actually quite messy. Nothing is ever black and white, but is often an ugly shade of grey. I trust the officers who commanded the Senator and recommended him for his awards. I, too, have had to face scurrilous accusations about my time in the service. It is not something I would wish on another. By attacking Senator Kerry’s honorable service, they actually attack mine, and by attacking Senator Kerry’s courage, honor, and sacrifice, they attack mine as well.
I know that many of you have seen these ads, and I am sure that you have been confused by these claims. The group that created these ads believes that what they are doing will help me in my election bid. I have requested that they stop the ads, but they have not seen fit to do so. I apologize to Senator Kerry for whatever pain this has caused him and his family, and I repudiate the ads and the group that created them. I can understand why some people feel that an attack like this makes good political sense, but it is not right.
Let me make it clear, Senator Kerry and I have serious disagreements on where we feel the country should be heading, and how we plan to lead the country in the next four years. Regardless of these differences, I firmly believe that Senator Kerry is an honorable man who has America’s interests at heart. Some of you will be voting for me, and some of you will be voting for the Senator. Make sure that your vote is influenced only by the truth, and not by malicious lies created by my supposed allies. Finally, I would like to thank you for your time, and to thank Senator Kerry for allowing me to speak here today.”
With that I stepped back from the podium, as the room roared into a standing ovation. I shook the Senator’s hand, and then waved to the audience and moved off the stage. Marilyn hugged me backstage and Ari, Josh, and I left the Spectrum.
“Well, you certainly stole the show, I’ll give you that much,” commented Josh. “John Kerry could do a pole dance out there on that stage right now, and he would still only get second billing on the evening news.”
“Of course, you probably lost the votes of the Swift Boaters out there,” added Ari.
I snorted out a laugh at that, and added in my best John Wayne accent (not a great one, but passable), “A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do!”
Marilyn simply groaned. “Enough out of you. Let’s go back to Washington. I want to watch the news tonight.”
The fallout was interesting. The Swift Boat Vets put out a statement saying that while they totally disagreed with my characterization of their group, they would acquiesce to my misguided judgment and stop running ads. The networks all dug up my history in Nicaragua again, and ran that mess for a few days, and some fact checking outfits began reviewing the Swift Boaters’ claims. Meanwhile I was being lauded for my political courage and statesmanlike behavior. I commented to John McCain and a few others that if you actually did the right thing every once in a while, you could get some positive coverage, since nobody expected it anyway! Within a week, well before the convention, it was old news.
The Republican Convention was at the end of August in New York. I wasn’t spending all that much time on it, but I was keeping an eye on things. Our overall plan was to run a very professional convention. Neither the RNC nor the reelection committee wanted any surprises! The neocons weren’t even being invited, not even at the 4:00 AM sessions. I might not be as conservative as some of my brethren wanted, but the economy was generally in good shape and we weren’t at war with anybody. The image we were presenting was that we were the professionals, the grown-ups, a couple of guys who had been around the block and taken a few knocks and knew what we were doing. Why mess with a good thing?
Our convention was held in the Big Apple, and was so slick and smooth as to be a snoozer. Mike Bloomberg had his share of crazies in the town, but they were under a severe security regime. Madison Square Garden was quiet. Most of the speeches pointed to the legislation we had passed, the solid economic performance of the nation, and the international respect we had maintained. ‘Four more years!’ was our mantra, and we repeated it with the devotion of a chanting mystic.