One would like to think that there’s no lower form of life in the Democrat party than Lanny Davis. Unfortunately for hopes of a livable world, there are worse.
I watched the segment myself, and I hope that Mr. O’Neill (a lawyer himself) knows what kind of smear machine he’s up against, and has adequately prepared himself. Based on what happened this weekend, he may indeed have. I’d like nothing better than for Mr. Davis, at long last, to finally have to pay at least a financial penalty for his vicious calumnies.
What was particularly irritating about the Hannity & Colmes show (which is often the case) was how ineffective Hannity was in arguing with him.
Lanny consistently referred to the Swift Boat as a “ship” (a term that any Navy vet would find laughable). The intent is obviously to imply that Kerry was commander of a vessel in which the crew, and the crew alone, worked, ate, slept, laughed, shat, and most importantly, fought with him, and that no one else was in a position to know what happened on his “ship.”
That is nonsense. It wasn’t a ship. It was a boat (as implied by its name), and not one on which the men lived. They lived on shore with others who got up every day and patrolled by day, often in close proximity to each other.
If one accepts the Kerry defenders’ arbitrary definition of “served with,” no one served with George W. Bush except the people who flew in his (single-seat) F-102 with him (i.e., no one). One doesn’t have to be in the same squad, or platoon, to “serve with” someone. There are higher levels of the hierarchy in which people still interact, often on a daily basis. The Swift Boat Vets all served together, despite the mud you’ll see slung over the next days and weeks as this story continues to grow more legs than a mutant millipede.
The more this goes on, the more hysterical the defenders become (Colmes: “Isn’t this despicable–how can they impugn the honor of a medal winner?” Ignoring, of course, the fact that many of those testifying against Kerry have their own medals, but Alan has no problem with smearing them as liars).
As I said, this is right out of the Clinton playbook. Ad hominem, trash the accusers, obfuscate the facts, use misdirection, like any skilled magician. At least this time, the nuts aren’t sluts–they’re attacking veterans and medal winners, not women victimized by Bill Clinton…
I suspect that this time, the illusion won’t stand up.
[Update at 10 PM PDT]
I see that Snopes has already leapt to his defense, emphasizing the evidence in his favor, and ignoring any against. I hope that this will also blow up the myth about them being non-partisan.