Politics

McCain: Stand Down On Vietnam

August 26, 2004 / 1:45 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Sen. John McCain has called on both political parties to declare a cease-fire in the increasingly bitter partisan quarrel over John Kerry's Vietnam war record.

"I'm sick and tired of re-fighting the Vietnam War. And most importantly, I'm sick and tired of opening the wounds of the Vietnam War, which I've spent the last 30 years trying to heal," McCain told USA Today. "It's offensive to me, and it's angering to me that we're doing this. It's time to move on."

Separately, McCain told the New York Times that he intended to personally "express my displeasure" to President Bush about TV ads that question Kerry's valor in Vietnam.

The Arizona Republican told the newspaper he did not think Mr. Bush had gone far enough in condemning the ads, which have been produced by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

The Vietnam War hero also said he wanted Kerry and the Democrats to stop using a clip of him in the 2000 presidential campaign in TV ads attacking the president.

The ad - and the Kerry campaign - assert that Mr. Bush is behind the Swift Boat group, a charge the White House denies.

In other developments in the Kerry war record debate:

A new Los Angeles Times poll shows Mr. Bush with a narrow 49-46 percent lead over Kerry. Mr. Bush trailed by two points in the last Times poll. The survey showed that 58 percent believe Kerry served honorably and deserved the five medals he received, and that 18 percent believe he misrepresented his service record and does not deserve the decorations. Twenty percent said the debate over Kerry's war record made them more likely to support Kerry while 26 percent said it reduced the chance they would back the Democrat and 52 percent said it made no difference.

The chief critic of John Kerry's military record told President Nixon in 1971 that he had been in Cambodia in a swift boat during the Vietnam War -- a claim at odds with his recent statements that he was not. According to a conversation that was secretly recorded, John O'Neill said quote: "I was in Cambodia, sir. I worked along the border." O'Neill did not dispute what he said to Nixon, but insisted he was never actually in Cambodia, just on its border. O'Neill is co-author of "Unfit for Command," which accuses
Kerry of lying about his record.

One of President Bush's top lawyers, Benjamin Ginsberg, resigned from his campaign Wednesday, a day after disclosing that he had given legal advice to a veterans group airing TV ads challenging Democrat John Kerry's Vietnam War service. The guidance included checking ad scripts, the group said.

Former Democratic Sen. Max Cleland tried to deliver a letter protesting the ads attacking Kerry's Vietnam service to Mr. Bush at his Texas ranch, but the Secret Service stopped Cleland short of his goal. The former Georgia lawmaker, a triple amputee who fought in Vietnam, was carrying a letter from nine Senate Democrats who wrote Mr. Bush that "you owe a special duty" to condemn attacks on Kerry's military service. A White House spokesman dismissed the visit as a "political stunt."

It's still not clear which party - if either - will gain a political advantage because of the dispute.

Republican pollster Neil Newhouse said Mr. Bush had the advantage when the debate centered on Kerry's actions in Vietnam because the questions raised doubts about Kerry's credibility. Now that the debate has shifted to questions about campaign tactics and political insiders, Newhouse said, Mr. Bush lost his advantage.

"Bush gained early, now it's a wash," he said.

William Benoit, professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said McCain, who was a prisoner of war during Vietnam, erased any early advantage that Mr. Bush might have had.

McCain has called the anti-Kerry advertisement "dishonest" and "dishonorable."

"When Senator McCain comes out and says he's a hero ... how many Republicans are going to reject it?" Benoit said. "I just think Senator McCain has neutralized that issue in large part."