A New War for Kerry

I must admit that I believed the, in the words of the Washington Post, "unprecedented negativity" from the Bush campaign so early on in the campaign season would eventually blow up in George Bush's face. On the eve of the Republican Convention, nearly a month after the Democratic Convention and just over two months before Election Day however, I am starting to doubt my own prediction. I honestly believed the "taking the high road" method of campaigning would work well for John Kerry, portraying him as a fair, moral person. As opposed to my initial prediction, I now fear that it is Kerry's strategy that is the ticking time bomb and the soon to be released new ad from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth organization may be what sets it off. The new ad, unlike the first, does not make questionable claims. Instead, it will rely on irrefutable facts, and the one person Kerry cannot afford to disagree with anymore: himself.

The ad will focus on Kerry's testimony to Congress upon returning from Vietnam in which he states that U.S. soldiers in Vietnam were committing war crimes. The ad alone will be damaging to Kerry, but he and his campaign should be more worried about how it will be spun by those opposing them. For instance, it seems inevitable now that Kerry's own testimony will be used against him to discredit his claim that he is a war hero, and claim instead that he too was a war criminal.

Because of the nature of the ad, it will be extraordinarily difficult -- if not impossible -- for the Kerry campaign to refute, or even play down. Thus, probably the only way for Kerry and the groups supporting him to diminish, or at least balance out, the effect of the recent ads is to begin attacking Bush in a similar manner. Some, such as MoveOn.org have been attacking Bush harshly since the beginning -- Kerry even condemned one of their attack ads even when Bush would not condemn the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ad (a fine example of his "high road" approach) -- but Kerry himself needs to begin doing so more emphatically even if the sudden change in campaign styles does elicit a flip-flopper cry from the Bush camp.

So far, Kerry has refuted the claims made by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in a major speech, even trying to link them to Bush in the process, which I must say was a fine start. But his latest action has been to file a FEC complaint that is unlikely to produce results, which makes it nothing more than the name suggests: a complaint. It is essentially the Kerry campaign whining and attempting to tattle on their bullies instead of directly and consistently retaliating. Instead Kerry should now attack Bush in the same spot Bush's supporters attacked him: his military record. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ad essentially opened the door to questioning both candidates on their military record; a course which, if properly pursued, could prove quite beneficial for John Kerry. Whatever his next move, Kerry must make it with overwhelming strength and confidence; merely telling on George Bush and his friends will simply not do the trick.