Evening Newscasts Wrap: ABC News Political Unit
W A S H I N G T O N, August, 19 2004 — <br> -- A product of Noted Now and The Note
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LEADS:
ABC leads with Sen. Kerry's fierce response on the issue of his war record. Brian Rooney reports. NBC leads with the battle for Najaf. Preston Mendenhall reports. CBS leads with its new poll. Scott Pelley reports.
KERRY FIGHT'S BACK:
ABC's Brian Rooney reports "after months of questioning of his military record, Kerry came out fighting, issuing a challenge using President Bush's own words." Kerry SOT. Kerry's remarks today were in response to months of attacks by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The group is funded by a wealthy Republican contributor from Texas. Kerry: "They're a front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the President won't denounce what they're up to tells you everything you need to know, and he wants them to do his dirty work." The Kerry campaign has been debating whether to respond for some time, but after the poor reception at the VFW convention yesterday, "Kerry took the gloves off" and released his own ad today.
NBC's Carl Quintanilla reports Kerry has launched the "most bare-knuckled attack against the vets thus far." Kerry was said to be frustrated by attacks and had his staff up until early in the morning. He invited a new challenge to the President. Kerry's campaign says it wants to talk issues, but instead "Kerry has stumbled in a serous of recent attacks about his ability to handle manage the war on terror." Kerry charged that Bush had connections to the Swift Vets group, but today John O'Neill shrugged off that possibility. In closing, Quintanilla notes, "new charges about what happened there 30 years ago suggest this fight isn't over and that some old wounds are far from healed."
CBS' Byron Pitts reports today, Kerry did what he's always done, he pushed back. Pitts notes the ad may be working. Kerry's support among veterans dropped from 46 percent in July after the Democratic convention to 37 percent today. Kerry decided he could no longer could let the ad go unanswered. Kerry SOT: "The fact that the president won't denounce the ad tells you everything that you need to know. He wants them to do his dirty work. If he wants to have a debate about Vietnam. I have three words for him: 'Bring It On'." Video of John O'Neil on Dick Cavett show in 1971. Identifies him as Nixon's point man back then. In closing, Pitts says the Vietnam War was controversial for Kerry then and now.
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