Bush, Kerry bow to McCain's wishes

NEW YORK — President Bush and Sen. John Kerry bowed to the wishes of popular maverick John McCain on Thursday, as the president embraced the Republican senator's legal fight against big-money special interest groups airing negative ads and the Democratic nominee scrapped a commercial that featured McCain.

Their bitter fight over Vietnam-era military service took a compelling new twist as Kerry stood by the central charge in his ad — that Bush has used smear tactics to undercut the Democrat's valorous combat record. "I am absolutely telling you the God's honest truth about what happened and what took place over there," Kerry told supporters in Minnesota.

He has been on the defensive since a group financed by Bush supporters, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, aired a television commercial early this month accusing Kerry of exaggerating his wartime experience. Calling the group a front for the Bush campaign, Kerry unveiled an ad this week that features 4-year-old footage of McCain accusing Bush of smear tactics in their bitterly contested 2000 GOP primary race.

The fierce response reflects concerns inside the Kerry camp that the debate could undercut his signature political theme — as a decorated Vietnam veteran, Kerry argues, he is capable of replacing the incumbent Republican while the nation is at war. It is too early to tell by polls whether the debate has hurt Kerry. Or whether it has exposed Bush, who served stateside in the Texas Air National Guard during the war, to voter backlash.

The only obvious winner is McCain, a former Vietnam War hero who emerged from his 2000 defeat as one of the nation's most popular politicians, beloved by independent voters and courted by both presidential candidates. He has welcomed the attention, often instigating it, with an eye toward a possible run for the presidency in 2008.

Three weeks ago, the Arizona senator asked Bush to condemn the anti-Kerry ad. This week, he asked Kerry to withdraw the anti-Bush ad.

With their actions Thursday, Bush and Kerry satisfied McCain's demands.

Announcing that Kerry had yanked his ad, spokesman David Wade said, "It's long past time that Bush also take McCain's advice and do the right thing by putting an end to the smears and lies on John Kerry's service."

Bush has criticized all outside group attack ads, including the Swift Boat Veterans group's anti-Kerry commercial. Kerry's campaign insists Bush has essentially endorsed the accusations against Kerry because he has not denounced the ad.