If The Media Did Its Job

If the media was doing its job, this is how the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth story would have been covered from the very beginning.

"A group called "Swift Boat Veterans For Truth" has begun running ads in battleground states this week. The ads make extreme, unfounded charges about John Kerry's military service. A group of Vietnam veterans, most of them never served with John Kerry and they have no documents to back up what they say.

"A main charge? That John Kerry's Bronze Star for rescuing a crewmember while under fire was a lie and that there was no enemy fire. One of their main organizers signed an affidavit saying John Kerry didn't deserve that Bronze Star. However, he recently recanted and told the Boston Globe that it was wrong of him to sign that affidavit. The next day, the campaign said he had signed another affidavit but was unavailable for comment.

"Other details of the group call into question their facts as well. Their website lists soldiers who served with John Kerry and claims they don't support his run for President. At least two of the people listed say that's a lie and that their repeated requests to have their names removed from the website and the campaign have been ignored. Another main organizer who argues Kerry shouldn't have received the Bronze Star and wasn't under enemy fire also has come into question. Why? Because he also received a Bronze Star for bravery under enemy fire -- for the very same military action. He now claims not to have known why he received that Bronze Star some 30 years ago -- a claim that would be scoffed at by most any veteran of any war who can describe in vivid detail every action that led to their receiving a medal. Repair notes for the boat John Kerry served on also noted new bullet holes after returning from the incident.

"Furthermore, the application for his Bronze Star was signed by another member of this group -- and that application explicitly cites his action under enemy fire. The only witness to the enemy fire it notes is another veteran, not John Kerry. There's still more: another member of this group was part of a Navy task force that reported on the incident at the time. It too detailed enemy fire from both shores of the river during the incident in which mines exploded, entire crews of some boats were injured, John Kerry was injured and pulled a fellow crewmember out of the water. In other words, these veterans accepted the glory of receiving Bronze Stars and other praise for the very same incident described in the very same way, they signed applications for those medals making the same claims they now say are in dispute, they served on military panels that filed reports describing these events and they remained silent for more than 30 years. If they lied then, why should anyone believe them now?

"As recently as 1996, a number of the members of this tiny group had praised John Kerry for his service in Vietnam and supported his reelection to the Senate. Others have praised John Kerry in the past as not only a veteran who did his duty but as one of the best and bravest of the Swift Boat leaders.

"So why are they suddenly recanting 30 years of praise and singing a different tune? Well, two of the veterans received harsh criticism in an acclaimed, best-selling book about John Kerry called "Tour of Duty" by Douglas Brinkley. The criticism didn't come from Kerry, but they may blame him anyway. Furthermore, all the veterans readily admit their real beef with John Kerry isn't his service in Vietnam -- after all, they've been praising him about it for the past 30 years. No, their real beef is that he came home and criticized the war and they felt it was wrong of him to do so.

"But perhaps most significantly, the trail leads back to George Bush, who was also linked to a smear campaign against John McCain in his last Presidential run. More than 90% of the initial funds for this group came from two donors who are among the top supporters of George Bush. One of the main supporters is a close personal friend of Karl Rove. A Bush campaign employee works with the group and has suddenly been asked to leave the Bush campaign since, legally, Bush cannot have anything to do with independent political groups. Furthermore, one of the top lawyers advising the Bush campaign is also providing legal advice to the so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Election officials are currently investigating to see if this web of connections has violated election laws."

If the media had done its job and explored these charges before blindly repeating them, this is how the story might have first appeared. A Google search to find out these men had praised John Kerry in the past isn't asking so much. A quick search of the public records to find out where their funding is coming from isn't too much to ask either. But the media is lazy. Or at least not doing its job as part of the vast left-wing conspiracy.

At this stage, any outlet that descibes these events as "murky" or "controversial" or "called into question" should be excoriated. Unfortunately, that's exactly what the New York Times, USA Today and many other outlets have done in the last few days, long after this group has been thoroughly discredited by any reasonable standard.