Despite his wish that merely saying it to his supporters in the populace and the sycophants in the media will make it so, Sen. John Kerry's claim that President George W. Bush is behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign is false. Anybody who truly thinks these veterans would be so easily pushed around by a political party is in need of a new pair of paper slippers.

The President has said publicly and through his representatives that he honors the military service of Kerry. President Bush has also long maintained that the 2004 campaign centers around questions not of the Vietnam War, but the war on terrorism. President Bush is not responsible for primary voters ignoring the only Democrat in the primary race — Sen. Joe Lieberman — who said anything responsible about the threat faced by the United States.
 
President Bush did not force Kerry to accentuate his military service in the snows of New Hampshire and Iowa and the Democratic primaries. President Bush has never questioned the manner in which Kerry won his medals, nor has the President ever mentioned Kerry's disgraceful actions upon returning from Vietnam. The Bush campaign even reached out to Kerry to discourage all 'independent' political groups that sneak through the sieve that is McCain—Feingold (even though the Swift Boat vets are comprised of Republicans, Democrats, and independents).

George W. Bush realizes that Kerry's record in Vietnam, and his Senate testimony, his medal/ribbon/someone else's medal/ribbon tossing when he returned to the United States is largely irrelevant to their own debate regarding the specific issues at hand in 2004. It is not the job of the President of the United States to engage in attacking a man's military record from 30 years ago. Despite the howls of leftists to the contrary, President Bush would never bring these matters into the debate, nor will he. Just by combing through Kerry's voting record in the Senate, the President knows he has more than enough material to jab Kerry into a corner before the knockout punch is delivered.

Kerry's reactions to the ads and words of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are instructive, however. At every turn in the current controversy, the Senator has shown himself unprepared, has mouthed falsifications and myths, and illogically challenged the President to a debate about their military service. Kerry's actions regarding the allegations of the Swift Boat vets reveal a man that is unqualified for the Presidency.

Did Kerry really think that John O'Neill and his brothers in arms, who were so offended by Kerry's seditious testimony, speechmaking, and posturing in the early 1970s, would keep quiet when Kerry finally ran for Commander—in—Chief? Was he really unprepared for the charges against him, and did he really not have a strategy in place to counter these criticisms not only for the general election, but the primaries beforehand? Kerry's calls for banning Unfit for Command and his general flailing about since the book's publication indicate that, similar to his policy proposals, he had no plan, nor has he taken the time to develop a legitimate plan to answer these allegations. Even Bill Clinton had a ready response for 'bimbo eruptions.' If Kerry could not assume this 'attack,' what will he fail to assume as President?

Putting aside, for a moment, Kerry's service and his anti—war activity, a clear truth is revealed about the Democratic nominee. Kerry's inability to proactively move in defense of his actions, his continuous changing of stories, outlandish accusations, and his advocating every side of every issue show an instability of mind the nation can ill afford at any point in history, much less these perilous times. Kerry has had over 30 years to prepare for these questions about his record concerning the Vietnam War. It is nearly inconceivable that he could not have anticipated them. Kerry is in such a panic he might actually pick up the check the next time he and Teresa dine out. It is disturbing to imagine what sort of panic will grip a Kerry White House in the immediate aftermath of stock market crash or a terrorist attack.

President Bush's silence on the matter of John Kerry versus the truth is not only good strategy, it is appropriate. Kerry's many years of false bravado and outright deception have finally caught up to him, and he is incapable of handling the truth. He is also incapable of handling the Presidency.