With the term "swiftboated" now a deragotory term defining the worst of political dirty tricks, the real swiftboat veterans of the Vietnam War are fighting back. Across the political spectrum they are distancing themselves from political activist and creepy crawler John O’Neil who was the central voice and the organizational man who was behind the sleasy and dishonest 2004 political ads. Veterans Long to Reclaim the Name ‘Swift Boat’
Conservative Texas billionare T. Boone Pickens was the money behind the slease campaign and Regnecy Press the publisher who got O’Neils book out fast enough to help give the election to another 4 years of President Nitwit. it was just not politics that drove O’Neil but the life long embarassment he suffered by coming off as afool and a loser in a debate on the Dick Cavett Show with John Kerry in 1971. Dick Cavett Show Video.
Shithead of 2004 – Winner: John O’Neil
In 1971 Richard Nixon wanted to crush the peace movement in America. His aid Charles Colson brought to his attention a young anti-war upstart by the name of John Kerry. Colson told Nixon he guy was the most credible voice in the movement and had to be compromised. The two hand picked a recent Vietnam Veteran named John O’Neil to confront the young war hero on the Dick Cavett show. Nixon picked someone even more unfavorable to television cameras than he was. Mr. O’Neil came off as an obtuse skinny little Nixon Wonk who spent most of the hour fumbling through his notes, stammering, whining and being made a complete fool of.
He never forgot. Leading up to the 2004 election he organized and helped fund the Swiftboat Vets in the most ubiquitous and dishonest character assassination in American election history. This pussbag went so far over the line that as election day closed in he ran ads of grey haired old widows looking into the camera telling point blank lies and blaming Senator Kerry for their husbands deaths. Like Arkansas lawyer Cliff Jackson who spent his life trying to destroy Bill Clinton resulting in an impeachment, O’Neil’s life long vendetta may have been the straw that broke Kerry’s back. He also made big money on a book rushed out by Right-wing publisher Regnery Publishing.