With Bush Under Fire Conservatives Turn To Smearing War Heroes

VETERANS - Will President Bush Tolerate This?

Facing more questions about the President's National Guard duty, conservative allies of the White House did the only thing they could do: disparage triple amputee Vietnam war hero Max Cleland, a man who only a year and a half ago the White House and its allies likened to Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein in television ads. In a column posted on the conservative Heritage Foundation's Web site, Fox News contributor and White House ally Ann Coulter unleashed an attack on Cleland's service to his country, claiming that the triple amputee/decorated war hero displayed "no bravery" in Vietnam. The politically motivated assault came after Cleland appeared at events critical of the Administration, once again showing the conservatives pattern of impugning the patriotism of those who question their policy. It comes just after President Bush himself nominated Cleland to the Export-Import Bank and after Bush called Cleland "a good Democratic senator out of Georgia." The attack highlights a new pattern of behavior from the White House and fellow conservatives: they wrap themselves in the flag, while slashing funding for veterans health care, military families, and soldier pay – all while disparaging the honored service of those who defend America.

At the same time internet gossip columnist Matt Drudge takes on Silver Star holder Sen. John Kerry with rumors of an affair but little to back up the allegations.