Re: "End of discussion."
I think you'll see the WH has yet to do what you claimed they 'already had'.
McCain calls attack on Kerry military record 'cheap stunt'
August 6, 2004
BY RON FOURNIER
suntimes.com
WASHINGTON -- Republican Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, called an ad criticizing John Kerry's military service ''dishonest and dishonorable'' and urged the White House on Thursday to condemn it as well.
The White House declined.
''It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me,'' McCain said in an interview, comparing the anti-Kerry ad to tactics in his bitter primary fight with President Bush.
The 60-second ad features Vietnam veterans who accuse the Democratic presidential nominee of lying about his decorated Vietnam War record and betraying his fellow veterans by later opposing the conflict.
''When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry,'' one of the veterans, Larry Thurlow, says in the ad. Thurlow didn't serve on Kerry's swiftboat but says he witnessed the events that led to Kerry winning a Bronze Star and the last of his three Purple Hearts. Kerry's crewmates support the candidate and call him a hero.
The ad is scheduled to air in a few markets in Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Asked if the White House knew about the ad or helped find financing for it, McCain said: ''I hope not, but I don't know. But I think the Bush campaign should specifically condemn the ad.''
McCain, chairman of Bush's campaign in Arizona, later said the Bush campaign has denied any involvement and added, ''I can't believe the president would pull such a cheap stunt.''
In 2000, Bush's supporters sponsored a rumor campaign against McCain in the South Carolina primary, helping Bush win the primary and the nomination. McCain's supporters have never forgiven the Bush team.
AP
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