E.J. Dionne, Jr. on the Swift Boat Liars (Excellent question about McCain)

[frank frankly]

This is a big test for John McCain. Will he be the one to say loudly that these ads are complete LIES? That might get headlines and kill this beast.

Funny thing about McCain, is, even after his hugging of President Fubar, he might do it. You never know about McCain...well, unless he is a complete shill. I hope he's got some fight left in him.

(See the last paragraph of this excellent piece for question about McCain.)

---------------------------
Just politics?
E.J. Dionne, Jr. - Washington Post Writers Group

http://www.workingforchange.com/printitem.cfm?itemid=17523

<snip>

This is also a test for the media. We see here a fascinating and ugly development in the politics of annihilation. A supposedly outside group raises money from close Bush supporters, staffs itself with political operatives close to Bush and the Republicans, and then puts up several hundred thousand dollars worth of television ads. This is, as one operative with years of experience in Republican campaigns, put it, "a professional hit." Suddenly, questions about Kerry's service that were asked and answered months ago become big news again.

To their credit, several news organizations -- The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and The Washington Post among them -- have run reports exposing the distortions, inconsistencies and fabrications of the anti-Kerry crowd, and the links between this operation and the Bush machine.

But this hasn't stopped the run of unproven innuendo. Even highly respected Republicans have jumped in. "There's got to be some truth to these charges," Dole, a true war hero, said on CNN.

<snip>

McCain was right, and when he returns to the United States from a trip to Europe this week, he should stand up for that principle by suspending his campaigning for Bush's re-election until the smears against Kerry's Vietnam record stop. More than anyone, McCain is the person to make the case that slaughterhouse politics is particularly ill-suited at this moment in our history.

[wishlist]

1. McCain did not like Kerry talking about atrocities and they werent friends

according to the Democrat who has made a film about Kerry and his Swiftboat crew, McCain and Kerry weren't close at all until they traveled overseas together in 1991 and worked on the missing POW issue together. He said that they mended fences and became friends but that McCain had some hard feelings about Kerry's anti-war activities.