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A Daily Chronicle of Bush Administration Distortion August 23, 2004
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Bush Misleads on Connection to Smear Campaign



President Bush has adamantly denied any connection to discredited and unsubstantial attack ads, run by the so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), a group that aims to smear John Kerry's record of honorable military service. On Friday, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said that the White House and the Bush/Cheney campaign "weren't involved in any way in these [SBVT] ads."1

McClellan neglected to mention that Kenneth Cordier, who appears prominently in the SBVT ads, was a member of the Bush/Cheney veterans steering committee.2 According to the campaign website, members of the veterans steering committee "serve as messengers for the President's re-election campaign."3 After the Kerry campaign exposed Cordier's involvement, a spokesman for Bush, Steve Schmidt, announced Cordier would "no longer participate" in the campaign.4 According to Schmidt, the campaign had no idea that Cordier was involved in the SBVT ads - which have been a major issue in the campaign for weeks and replayed repeatedly on national television.

Also skipped over by McClellan: The primary financial backer of the SBVT is Bob Perry - the top donor to Republicans in the state of Texas.5 Perry has also been a friend of Karl Rove, Bush's top political advisor, for nearly 20 years.6 Perry ponied up $46,000 for Bush's gubernatorial campaigns and contributed generously to Bush's presidential races.7

Sources:
  1. "Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan," The White House, 08/20/04.
  2. "Bush Campaign Drops Swift Boat Ad Figure," The Washington Post, 8/22/04.
  3. "U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons Announces Nevada Veterans for Bush Leadership Team," GeorgeWBush.com, 8/20/04.
  4. "Bush Campaign Drops Swift Boat Ad Figure," Washington Post, 8/22/04.
  5. "Ad Wars: Behind an Attack on Kerry," International Herald Tribune, 8/20/04.
  6. Ibid.
  7. Ibid.



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