<p>I find these internet discussions time consuming and of little benefit, so this is my last post on the subject.</p>
<p>I can respect anyone’s conclusion the Swift Boat Veteran’s were wrong to attack the medal’s awarded to John Kerry but that was only a portion of their argument. They would never have attacked John Kerry had he not indicted Vietnam servicemen with unsubstantiated claims of war crimes during Congressional hearings. If he did not see the war crimes himself, his acusations are hearsay. If he saw the war crimes, then he had a duty to report them to his superiors. </p>
<p>The Swift Boat Veteran’s 527 was financed by Republican donors just as MoveOn.org, America Coming Together, People for the American Way, the Media Fund, etc. are financed by Democratic donors. Frankly, this is one of my biggest faults with Sen. John McCain. Before McCain-Feingold, the presidential campaigns and parties raised the money and purchased the advertisements, and thus, they were directly responsible for the accuracy of the ads. Now, millions of dollars are raised and spent by unaccountable third parties and when the ad goes “over-the-top”, the campaign and party deny responsiblity.</p>