Useful Fools

Posted By John Moore on November 14, 2004

It’s fair to say that the media this year did its best to unseat George Bush, using deceptive stories, over and under emphasis and every trick in their slimy book.

And George Bush may want to thank them for it.

On May 4, 2004, a previous unknown group, Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth held a historic press conference in Washington, DC. John Kerry’s entire Vietnam chain of command stated that Kerry was unfit to command, a totally unprecedented event. In addition, the group asked John Kerry to release all of his military records, something he still hasn’t done. The SBVT’s primary goal was to keep a man they considered dangerous from becoming president. They also wanted to give the Democratic party a chance to change nominees from this clearly flawed one.

The press reaction was interesting. At the press conference, they showed considerable discomfort when the message became clear. Ultimately, the story was treated as minor, with Kerry spin added to discredit the Swifties’ message, or spiked by the AP, ABC and NBC. See here for detailed media analyis. Needless to say, with press coverage so minor that almost no one remembers it, Kerry remained the nominee.

The press had made its judgment: Kerry was their man. Negative information would not be published.

The reaction of SBVT was to determine how to bypass the press imposed Iron Curtain. They decided to write a book containing their charges about Kerry that would inform people, and create a controversy that the press would have to cover. Somewhat surprisingly, this stratagem worked. It took a while - the book was #1 at Amazon before it was even available (showing the power of Samizdat in countering the US press monopoly). But the press still wasn’t interested. Eventually it became #1 on the New York Times list, and the Swifties released a dramatic advertisement to be broadcast in swing states.

Finally the press reacted. John O’Neil, co-author of the book, was a guest on many shows - often debating a Kerry representative. The commercial was played, allow folks not in the battleground states to see them.

Ultimately the press, using a remarkable double standard, pronounced all of the charges false.

But by then Americans were becoming suspicious of the main stream media (MSM). For many, the charges stuck. For those of us who knew some of the Swift Boat Veterans, the slanderous attacks on them were clearly desperation.

On November 2, the people spoke, roundly defeating the press by re-electing Bush and increasing Republican representation in the house and senate.

What if the press had treated the original charges as something as historic and important as they were? We might have had a different Democrat nominee, who might have won.

The MSM was too smart and dishonest. They defeated themselves.

And for that, I’m grateful.

But I’d be a lot happier if they were honest to begin with.

Categories: Election 2004
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