Swift assault
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The political battle between John Kerry and a group of Vietnam veterans supported by some Republicans grows more heated. As Kerry calls on President Bush to disavow the first swift boat ad, a second one is ready to be released.
An excerpt of the ad follows:
Kerry: They had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads.
Joe Ponder: The accusations that John Kerry made against the veterans who served in Vietnam was just devastating.
John Kerry: Randomly shot at civilians.
Joe Ponder: It hurt me more than any physical wounds I had.
The new ad by the so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth gets to the heart of their anger at John Kerry: his 1971 Senate testimony on alleged war crimes in Vietnam.
Veterans who now are critical of Kerry make no bones about the fact that they were outraged by his antiwar activities after returning from Vietnam.
"He dishonored his country and more importantly the people he served with. He just sold them out," says the ad.
The Kerry campaign is condemning the new ad, saying "This Republican front group for Bush is out of credibility after being caught in lie after lie, day after day."
The ad does not include Kerry telling senators that the war crimes charges he outlined were based on the testimony of over 150 Vietnam veterans.
"This group isn't interested in the truth. They are not telling the truth," Kerry said on the campaign trail Thursday.
A day after Kerry personally responded to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, he did not discuss the controversy, focusing instead on domestic issues.
But a new poll may help explain why he decided to fight back.
The Annenberg survey found 57 percent of Americans say they have seen the original ad -- which features one veteran saying, "John Kerry lied to get his Bronze Star. I know. I was there" -- or heard talk about it.
Those who are aware of the ad are split on whether it's believable.
Of all those surveyed, 59 percent say they think Kerry did earn all of his war medals; 21 percent say he did not earn them and 20 percent are unsure.
The Kerry camp continues to press its charge that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is a front for the Bush campaign.
"They're funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Republican contributor out of Texas," Kerry said of the Swift Boat Veterans Thursday.
The New York Times reported a "web of connections" between the group behind the ad and the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures, and the president's top political strategist, Karl Rove.
Apparently picking up on that, the Kerry camp Friday charged "Karl Rove's attack squad" with convincing the swift boat veterans to lie.
The swift boat group denies any direct contact with the RNC, the Bush White House or any Republican group.
"I've had no contact with any of them, nor do I plan to, nor can they tell me not to take part in the swift boat's campaign," swift boat veteran Larry Thurlow told CNN on Thursday.
"Senator Kerry knows that his latest attack is false and baseless," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Thursday. "The president has condemned all of the ads by the shadowy group."
