Say Anything Blog

For a while now the Bush campaign has been running what the left is calling "attack" ads. What the ads have been "attacking" is Kerry's voting record on certain key issues in addition to his tendency to get on both sides of an issue so I like to call them "critical ads," but that's just semantics I guess.

Anyway, Kerry is getting ready to launch a $25 million ad campaign (the largest purchase of advertising this election) that will serve as a rebuttal to Bush's ads. And what is Kerry choosing to say during this rebuttal? Basically, "I served in Vietnam and my friends and family think I'm a great guy."

From The Associated Press:

Kerry's commercials, focusing on the Democrat's "lifetime of service and strength," are designed to flesh out his biography and priorities for voters while trying to counter the Bush campaign's portrayal of the Democrat as a flip-flopper who is weak on national security.

"If you look at my father's time in service to this country, whether it's as a veteran, prosecutor or senator, he has shown an ability to fight for things that matter," Kerry's daughter, Vanessa, says in one ad.

His wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, adds: "John is the face of someone who's hopeful, who's generous of spirit and of heart."

Both ads spotlight Kerry's fellow servicemen from Vietnam, with crewmate Del Sandusky saying, "The decisions that he made saved our lives." Jim Rassman, who was a U.S. Army Special Forces Lieutenant rescued by Kerry 35 years ago in Vietnam, says, "When he pulled me out of the river, he risked his life to save mine." Kerry's effort earned him the Bronze Star.

The point of all this, according to Democrats, is to introduce Kerry to America. As though the media hasn't been covering Kerry for months and months now. Bush's ads are talking about the issues, Kerry's ads are talking about Vietnam. Sounds about right to me.

I'd really like to hear Kerry address some of the issues. All I ever hear him talk about is how wrong Bush is and how the right is spending all this money to attack him. That's all well and good, but what exactly is Kerry going to do when he becomes the President? He's made vague references to involving the U.N. more in foreign policy and creating a lot of jobs but he's skimpy on the details.

I guess I'm just really, really tired of hearing about Vietnam. It happened over three decades ago. Its nice that Kerry served his country so well, but can we focus on the present?