An ugly attack

John Kerry, who has spent his adult life as a prosecutor, lieutenant governor and four-term U.S. senator, may be fairly accused of overemphasizing his Vietnam War experience in his campaign for president. But the latest attack from a Republican-backed political committee seeking to discredit Kerry's Vietnam service is dishonest and indecent.

Kerry earned a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts commanding a swift boat in Vietnam, but the so-called "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" challenge the very notion that Kerry served his country honorably. The group, which is funded in large part by a Houston homebuilder who gives generously to Republicans, has released a commercial featuring Vietnam veterans who claim in the absence of any verifiable proof that Kerry "is no war hero" and "lied to get his Bronze Star." Many members of Kerry's former crew have attested to his bravery and are supporting his campaign. None of the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" served on Kerry's boat.

This isn't the first time that such gutter tactics have been directed at a political opponent of George W. Bush. The passionate response the anti-Kerry ad evoked from Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain is a reminder of the pattern here. Four years ago, McCain was campaigning against Bush for the Republican presidential nomination only to see Bush appear on a South Carolina stage with a discredited former Green Beret who accused McCain of "stabbing veterans in the back." Other supposedly independent groups spread even more despicable rumors about McCain, who spent 5 1/2 years in a Hanoi prison. Two years ago, Max Cleland, a U.S. senator from Georgia who lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam, found himself on the receiving end of a Republican commercial that pictured Osama bin Laden and claimed Cleland lacked the "courage to lead."

On a campaign stop last week in support of Bush, McCain asked the president to condemn the Kerry commercial. But the closest White House press secretary Scott McClellan would venture was to offer this disingenuous rejoinder: "The president deplores all the unregulated soft money activity."

McCain was more direct. He called the ad "dishonest and dishonorable" and told the Associated Press, "I deplore this kind of politics."

Whether Kerry is the better candidate for president is an issue that deserves vigorous debate. Whether he, like McCain, was a genuine combat hero who risked his life in service to his country is beyond dispute. If the president can't distance himself from such political filth, then he brings dishonor upon his own campaign.