Maybe I'm easily impressed, but I think the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth laid the best political trap for John Kerry I've ever seen. Hannibal would be proud.
Step one was to document and gather affidavits and write a book so that there was a wealth of credible material to draw from.
Step two was to put out an ad attacking Kerry's service. Believe them or not, Kerry and the media have reacted by being outraged that anybody would crap on a combat veteran like the SBVTs did. The fact that they were combat veterans every bit as much as Kerry was immaterial. "How dare you impugn him! He fought and bled for his country!" Let's face it, this is a strong defense.
Step three was to spring the trap. If you think the SBVTs were surprised by the reaction, you haven't been paying attention to their second ad where they recount how John Kerry crapped on every Vietnam combat veteran after Kerry returned from Vietnam. The art of political Aikido in action is beautiful to behold. All that anger for Kerry gets turned around and used against him. "How dare he impugn his band of brothers, men who fought and died for their country." The narrative becomes: if you thought you were mad at us when we said Kerry was a braggert, how should you feel when Kerry said all of us vets were rapists and murderers?
And what has to really hurt is that Kerry's attacks are all in the public record. Kerry is his own accuser; the credibility of the SBVTs doesn't matter on this attack. In a move of sheer brilliance, the SBVTs put on ex-POWs to testify to the emotional toll his accusations of atrocities took on them. What's Kerry going to do -- attack an ex-POW? McCain would lead the countercharge personally.
Kerry has only himself to blame for this. If he had run on his political record and his vision for the future, none of this would have come up, let alone matter. But by insisting that his actions 36 years ago mattered, that they were significant qualifications for office, he cannot insist that his actions 33 years ago don't matter and are significantly disqualifying for office. I mean if he isn't the same man he was 33 years ago, he sure isn't the man he was 36 years ago. What was he thinking? How could he have forgotten?
