Seems to me that the "Swift-boating" attack ads
against Giuliani differ from those against Kerry and McCain for one specific reason: where as Kerry and McCain's military service was not the platform for their campaigns (I don't recall them running as "War-heroes" though the press called them such), Giuliani's 9/11 record is the
only thing that propelled him into the national spotlight. Furthermore Giuliani himself touts this record as evidence of his leadership ablity. Seems to me these ads are a valid form of criticism.
"John Kerry, reporting for duty." (Salute)
ReplyDeleteMany times during the campaign, when Kerry differed from Bush on war issues, he or his surrogates would claim that Kerry had a superior understanding of military issues thanks to his personal experience.
And I may have seen a slightly different package than you did. Kerry wouldn't need a military history in New York generally, since his politics and the state's were pretty compatible. But in flyover country, Kerry's Senate record was a good bit more liberal than the type of guy we generally vote for, so maybe we heard a little bit more about his personal military history, which will get you a lot more props in a red state than a commitment to only appoint judges who support Roe v. Wade.
I think the firefighters and the Swift Boat ads are fair game, personally - you can reject the content of the ads - the Swift Boaters got "Swift Boated" themselves, and NRO has a response to the substance of the firefighters ad, or you can decide that the issue is minor - but I think they're both legit.