But that is precisely what has been happening in this most divisive of political campaigns. An organization known as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, in TV ads and in a book, have been attempting (with some success, if polls are to be believed) to discredit the service record of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. Given many Americans’ insatiable appetite for slime and aversion to doing their own homework, the largely discredited swift boat crowd have succeeded in diverting attention from the far more critical issues facing our country.
Alas, lost amid the growing cacophony of complaining about one candidate or another’s perceived personal shortcomings are such things as their actual political achievements and failures, as well as their positions on such vital issues as the war in Iraq, the economy and trade, the environment, health care, education, etc. The smart money says more Americans today can parrot the specious claims of the Swift Boat Veterans, and the desperate-sounding counterclaims of the Kerry campaign and its supporters, than can cite in much detail how either Kerry or President Bush stand on the critical issues of our time.
This is a deeply disturbing state of affairs and one that does not bode well for our nation. It doesn’t help that many in the mainstream media, particularly TV — as always trivializing presidential campaigns by treating them as horse races — only muddy the picture further by focusing on the fistfights at the expense of real reporting and analysis.
As for the campaign by the Swift Boat Veterans, it is, of course, just one of many such smear attacks coming from the right and the left. But it is noteworthy for both its audacity and vitriol. It is also completely transparent. Though they may hide behind the cloak of plausible deniability, the Bush administration and its advisors bear more than a little blame for them. For one thing, the veterans have been bankrolled by a Texan who has given millions of dollars to Republican campaigns, including President Bush’s. And for another, the attacks closely resemble those against two other distinguished veterans, namely Arizona Sen. John McCain, when he ran against Bush in the 2000 primary, and former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, who was unseated by a Bush acolyte in 2002. McCain spent more than five years in the notorious Hanoi Hilton prison, while Cleland, though severely wounded by his own grenade, was cited for gallantry at Khe Sanh. Both were slimed by stealth henchmen for the Bush administration, so many of whose members, it must not be forgotten, sought refuge from the rice paddies in student deferments and the like.
It may, of course, be too much to ask that the candidates clean up their own barnyards, and that the press ignore a compelling, if unworthy, story, but it’s never too late to seriously address the soft money rules that enable organizations like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth on the right, and MoveOn on the left, to hijack the campaign debate. The Federal Election Commission needs to take a strong stance to limit the abilities of these supposedly independent political groups to spend millions in unrestricted contributions. These so-called 527s, named after Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, currently enjoy nonprofit status while running highly partisan political ads that are not directly guided by the political parties or candidates they support.
John Kerry served with distinction in Vietnam more than three decades ago. President Bush, at the same time, was a member of the Texas Air National Guard. In truth, what they did or didn’t do then is of little relevance today. There are more serious issues at hand. We ignore them at our peril.