Weeks after many Americans learned what a swift boat is, the presidential campaign remains stuck in the past. Accusations that George Bush shirked his National Guard service are five years old and the authenticity of documents purporting to prove those claims is now in question. The debate over their legitimacy has replaced the content of the accusations, but in the mud of this campaign, one smear invites another. As reporters race to record the “he said, he said” of this fight, there seems little time or interest in separating truth from all the political noise.
Guests:
Tom Patterson, Professor at the Kennedy School of Government and author of “The Vanishing Voter: Public Involvement in an Age of Uncertainty”
Walter Robinson, Editor of the Boston Globe’s Investigative team
Bryan Keefer, assistant managing editor of Columbia Journalism Review’s Campaign Desk and co-author of “All the President’s Spin”
Michael Lynch, Professor of Philosophy author of True to Life: Why Truth Matters;Tom Patterson, Ben Bradlee Chair of Political Science at the JFK School of Government