Submitted by John Stauber on
John Kerry called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group "a front for the Bush campaign." The New York Times' in-depth report on the group finds "a web of connections to the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures and President Bush's chief political aide, Karl Rove. ... The group received the bulk of its initial financing from two men with ties to the president and his family - one a longtime political associate of Mr. Rove's, the other a trustee of the foundation for Mr. Bush's father's presidential library. A Texas publicist who once helped prepare Mr. Bush's father for his debate when he was running for vice president provided them with strategic advice. And the group's television commercial was produced by the same team that made the devastating ad mocking Michael S. Dukakis in an oversized tank helmet when he and Mr. Bush's father faced off in the 1988 presidential election. ... On close examination, the accounts of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth prove to be riddled with inconsistencies."