The SBVT initially attacked Kerry's competence to be commander-in-chief at a well attended news conference before the end of the primary season. The conference was almost ignored. Subsequent advertisements which attacked Kerry's military record and his anti-war stance, purchased with the help of contributions from hundreds of thousands of small donors, and a few large donors including T. Boone Pickens, were able to achieve national attention and became the focuse of intense controversy in the normally media-quiet month of August. | The SBVT initially attacked Kerry's competence to be commander-in-chief at a well attended news conference before the end of the primary season. The conference was almost ignored. Subsequent advertisements which attacked Kerry's military record and his anti-war stance, purchased with the help of contributions from hundreds of thousands of small donors, and a few large donors including T. Boone Pickens, were able to achieve national attention and became the focuse of intense controversy in the normally media-quiet month of August. |