October 15, 2008 4:28:19 PM CDT
(Newser) – The 2004 election cracked the once-close personal relationship between John McCain and John Kerry, the Washington Post notes, and differences over the Iraq war has left the bond between the former Navy men fractured. "The same intensity of their feelings as veterans which brought them together has pushed them apart on two big policy areas," one insider says of Iraq and national security. "They took away very different lessons."
The relationship soured after a possible Kerry-McCain ticket in 2004 was aborted—with the Dem's supporters saying McCain pulled away, and the Republican's camp charging Kerry was way off in thinking he’d ever agree to join. McCain’s refusal to appear in anti-Swift Boat ads widened the gulf—with Kerry now on the far shore, touting Barack Obama and blasting McCain's policies.
Source Washington Post
Jul 6, 08 5:46 PM CDT Senatorial supporters of Barack Obama and John McCain dueled on talk shows today over Obama's latest remarks on Iraq, Politico reports. Sen. Joe Lieberman called Obama a flip-flopper on This Week for his plan to "refine" Iraq pullout plans. On Face the Nation, Sen. John Kerry accused McCain backers of making "an issue where there really isn’t one." More »
Jul 1, 08 3:26 PM CDT John McCain has taken nearly $70,000 in donations from top funders of the notorious Swift Boat Vets for Truth, the group that assaulted John Kerry’s military record in 2004—prompting censure from McCain at the time as “dishonest and dishonorable.” A rep was coy in response, telling USA Today the backers supported the Republican's “agenda of reform, prosperity and peace.” More »
Jun 30, 08 6:06 AM CDT These days, the phrase "Swift boat" has come to mean a vicious political attack of the kind suffered by John Kerry in the 2004 election. While the term has gained such currency that it's now used as a verb, one group is seriously miffed: the Navy veterans who, like Kerry, served on a Swift boat during the Vietnam war. The New York Times reports on the former servicemen looking to reclaim their honor. More »
Jun 20, 08 1:35 PM CDT Democrats fretting over a reprise of the swift boating that marked the 2004 campaign may be hearing false alarms, Politico reports. Third-party organizations, aka 527 groups, have thus far been unable to drum up enough opposition to Barack Obama to fund an offensive. It's early yet, but antagonists like T. Boone Pickens and Freedom's Watch are on the sidelines. More »
Jun 15, 08 9:24 AM CDT “A man’s ability to perform credibly as a prisoner of war” is founded on “a strong belief in his nation’s foreign policy,” John McCain wrote in a 1974 essay that shows the seeds of the candidate's views on public support for war. The New York Times takes a look at the essay, which was written during his time at the National War College—a time McCain says was key in the development of his views on Iraq, . More »
John McCain • Iraq war • John Kerry • Vietnam War • Swift Boat Veterans for Truth • POW/MIA
