With some of his most ardent supporters airing dishonest and discredited attack ads against Sen. John Kerry's military record, George Bush is refusing to denounce the tactics. Not only is Bush ignoring calls from Republicans to intervene, he is directly contradicting his own demands made during the 1992 presidential campaign.
According to the July 14, 1992 Washington Post, George W. Bush authored a letter to more than 85,000 Republican donors on behalf of his father's presidential campaign urging them to stop funding sleazy and dishonest attacks on Bill Clinton.1 Now, however, Bush is remaining silent as his top Texas fundraiser, Robert Perry2 bankrolls ads against Kerry, which independent academic institutions have discredited.3
Even as Sen. John McCain(R) demands the White House issue a statement denouncing the tactics4, Bush refuses. Even as one of the veterans in the ads apologizes for his attacks5, Bush, who talks so much about restoring "civility", and maintaining "integrity" has taken nothing but a passive, non-committal approach to his friends' ads.
[1] "Bush Camp Files Complaint Against Horton Ad Maker", The Washington Post, p.A9, 07/14/92.
[2] "Top Texas Donor's Influence Far More Visible Than He Is", Los Angeles Times, 08/08/04
[3] "Republican-funded Group Attacks Kerry's War Record", FactCheck.org, 08/06/04
[4] "McCain: Denounce Smear", New York Daily News, 08/06/04
[5] "Veteran Retracts Criticism of Kerry", The Boston Globe, 08/06/04
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