| | :''Main article:'' [[United States presidential election, 2004]] | | :''Main article:'' [[United States presidential election, 2004]] |
| | During his 2004 campaign for President, several groups were formed, most notably the [[Swift Boat Veterans for Truth|Swift Vets and POWs for Truth]],<ref>[http://www.swiftvets.com/index.php Swift Vets and POWs for Truth]</ref> to counter the charges of "[[war crimes]]" Kerry repeatedly made against Vietnam veterans (see below) and to call Kerry's military record into question, accusing him of inflicting his own wounds,<ref>[http://www.learnedhand.com/kerryunfitepilogue.htm John Kerry - Unfit For Command]</ref> going to unusual lengths to obtain his Purple Hearts,<ref>[http://www.archive-news.net/Articles/FD040830.html ''Forging a Paper Hero: The Mystery of Kerry’s Medals] </ref> and attacking unarmed civilians. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth had been criticized, firstly because no member of the group served on the actual boat that Kerry commanded and secondly for perceived contradiction. As an example, Kerry's commanding officer, George Elliott, signed an affadavit for the Swift Boat veterans claiming that with the information he had now, he would not have recommend Kerry for the military honor, but later repudiated his affadavit, stating that Kerry had deserved the honor.<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/08/06/veteran_retracts_criticism_of_kerry/</ref>. | | During his 2004 campaign for President, several groups were formed, most notably the [[Swift Boat Veterans for Truth|Swift Vets and POWs for Truth]],<ref>[http://www.swiftvets.com/index.php Swift Vets and POWs for Truth]</ref> to counter the charges of "[[war crimes]]" Kerry repeatedly made against Vietnam veterans (see below) and to call Kerry's military record into question, accusing him of inflicting his own wounds,<ref>[http://www.learnedhand.com/kerryunfitepilogue.htm John Kerry - Unfit For Command]</ref> going to unusual lengths to obtain his Purple Hearts,<ref>[http://www.archive-news.net/Articles/FD040830.html ''Forging a Paper Hero: The Mystery of Kerry’s Medals] </ref> and attacking unarmed civilians. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth had been criticized, firstly because no member of the group served on the actual boat that Kerry commanded and secondly for perceived contradiction. As an example, Kerry's commanding officer, George Elliott, signed an affadavit for the Swift Boat veterans claiming that with the information he had now, he would not have recommend Kerry for the military honor, but later repudiated his affadavit, stating that Kerry had deserved the honor.<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/08/06/veteran_retracts_criticism_of_kerry/</ref>. |
| − | {{Cquote|He was asked the direct question of how he voted in 1968. He said "if he had voted (which he did not), he would have voted for [[Nixon]]." <ref>[http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/virtuallibrary/documents/donated/042671_chotiner.pdf Memo from Chotiner to Mitchell], April 26, 1971.</ref> }}
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