Business Week Mag: Excellent article about Kerry! In response to

[KoKo]

an attack article someone wrote which is also on the website. I wish I could post more of this article because it's a MUST READ. Worth reading the attack article which this one is in response to, also. Kerry's campaign could use this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------


Flinging the Foul Mud of Vietnam
John Kerry returned a hero. The smears his political enemies are now flinging mark them -- not him -- as beneath contempt

MUDDYING THE WATER. Unfortunately, soldiers -- including American soldiers -- commit atrocities in all wars. That was true even of the so-called Greatest Generation in World War II, it was true in Korea and Vietnam, and it's undoubtedly true in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Denying that is to deny the reality of war. And failing to face the harsh realities of war is what makes it so easy for the U.S. to slide into nasty, unnecessary conflicts -- like Vietnam and the Iraq War now.

Americans should never go to war except in the full knowledge that it's going to wreak terrible pain on the enemy, the civilian populations involved, and our own troops. That doesn't make the service of those who served honorably any less honorable. But anyone who denies that some American soldiers committed atrocities in Vietnam is kidding themselves. You can quibble over the exact words Kerry used and whether he should have said them when he did, but in broad terms he spoke the truth.

The purpose of the attacks against Kerry, however, isn't to get at the truth. It's a media campaign, with TV ads intended to create a vague, negative impression where none existed. The people behind the ads know that by any realistic assessment of the facts, Kerry has a major advantage over Bush when it comes to their respective military records. They want to muddy the waters to reduce Kerry's advantage. It's amazing that such bald-faced tactics can gain any traction with voters.

NO EQUIVALENCY. The critics know that if they can just manufacture the appearance of controversy, most reporters -- in the name of "balancing" their stories -- will play along. Attacks on Bush, such as an ad funded by the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org that questioned Bush's military record, have been given equal weight with the vets' attack ads in some stories.


More of this great read:
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2004/nf20040823_6115_db045.htm

[helluvafella]

1. It gained traction with the lapdog press.

THAT was all that mattered.
NPR's resident feculent slug, Cokie Roberts, included her analysis f the ads in her weekly ruminations and declared the ads to have been successful because, even with the relatively tiny original 'buy', they have reached 50%-plus of voters through free media coverage...

[Killarney]

2. great article. puts it in perspective.

[A_Possum]

3. Best article I've seen yet

Clear and easy to follow, and puts the thing in the proper perspective.

[reprehensor]

4. Thanks for posting.

[KoKo]

5. Kicking this because it addresses the next attack coming from the

Bushies, even though he's called for withdrawal of ads, it doesn't mean his operatives aren't going to carry on the attack on the Pundit shows.
This article addresses Kerrys comments about Vietnam atrocities committed by soldiers, very well.

[spooky3]

6. Excellent article, as are many from B. Week. I urge any of you who

like to read bus. articles to dump WSJ, with its outrageous RW editorials, and subscribe to B. Week. It is not a lefty publication but tries to tell the truth and seems to get it right more often than not.

Thanks for posting.

[Hamlette]

7. a kick for a must read article!

[KoKo]

8. Kick...a good article...and good for Kerry !

:kick:

[KoKo]

9. Oh ....wtf...another kick for a very good article about Kerry!

:kick:

[KoKo]

10. I can't kick this anymore guys and this is a PRO KERRY article...much

needed tonight. Maybe you all already saw it? But, I will give one last kick, because I'm embarrassed to keep kicking it.

Did anyone read it besides the first few posters? Didn't you think it was good? Given that the next attack from SBV is going to be this...then I thought this article was an excellent response? No?

[ContinentalOp]

11. Good article.

Is this in the magazine or just on the website?