Polipundit agrees with my take on the Hannity/O'Neill exchange. Plus some other goodies.
Speaking To The Jury
I was impressed with John O'Neill when I first saw the 1971 Dick Cavett debate on C-Span several months ago and I was just as impressed tonight when he appeared on Hannity & Colmes. If he gets interviews in mainstream media and is allowed to speak, he will make some people -- including some Kerry supporters -- think. That is a big "if". So far, the only place the specifics of the Swift Boat Vets' allegations have been addressed at all is in the blogosphere, on talk radio and on cable news. Kerry & Co. have not addressed ANY of the allegations. For all the talk they do about the Republican Smear Machine, they have done nothing but smear the 250 Vietnam vet members of this group.
It has been disappointing, but not surprising, to see the media enforce a double standard when it comes to allegations about Kerry's military record, compared to how they handled the AWOL allegations against Bush. If O'Neill gets even half a chance to tell the story of the Swift Boat Vets, I believe the prediction in this comment I found at Captain's Quarters recently might just come to pass:
Here's an easy prediction. Whatever rebuttal Kerry's lawyers make, O'Neill has already anticipated. There is an underlying strategy. America is the courtroom, O'Neill is the prosecutor, SwiftVets are the witnesses, and on Election Day, voters will deliver the verdict.
Some evidence of this was found on Hardball (of all places) tonight. Chris Matthews actually said that print and television reporters need to run down the facts and find out what the truth is and if the ad is true that it is very relevant. Democrat strategist, Steve McMahon, blew a gasket denouncing the ad, saying that the doctor in the ad did not really treat Kerry, yada, yada, yada. Forget what Democrats say about backlash (which very possibly could result from this ad with the help of the media), the Kerry campaign is scared to death of this ad and they are not able to refute the allegations in it.
UPDATE: More proof here, in my opinion, that the Democrats are scared to death of the Swifties. Jon Stewart, on The Daily Show, last night and again tonight, almost word for word repeated Democrat talking points with a fever pitch. These guys are flipping out over this stuff. They don't know what to say about this except to trash and smear the 250 Swift Boat Veterans. I have not heard anyone address the allegations yet, only smear, smear, smear. So, it is really horrible to question Kerry and his 9 "brothers" account of events, but it is okay to attack in the most vicious way possible, 250 other decorated vets. It makes perfect sense, see, it was okay to attack Bush over his guard record, as well.
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