Kerry Accuses Bush of ‘Fear and Smear’

PHILADELPHIA —  With his campaign for the presidency engulfed in disputes over his Vietnam War service record, Sen. John F. Kerry accused President Bush on Tuesday of using “fear and smear” to divert attention from four years of White House failures.

Kerry spoke in personal terms of his Vietnam history, hours after renewing charges in Manhattan that Bush was using a “front” group to accuse him of lying about combat wounds to get his military medals.

“It’s become so petty that it’s almost pathetic in a way, as I listen to these things,” the Democratic presidential nominee told 350 supporters at a Philadelphia museum reception.

Kerry again denounced accusations by a veterans group that he did not deserve his Silver Star, Bronze Star or three Purple Hearts, saying the Navy followed its “normal process” in bestowing each medal.

“I’m proud of them, and I’m proud of my service,” said Kerry, a Navy lieutenant during the war. “And I’m proud that I stood up against the war when I came home, because it was the right thing to do.”

The group attacking Kerry, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, has run television ads accusing him of deceiving the military in seeking the medals, and of undermining U.S. soldiers in his subsequent protests against the Vietnam War.

The charges -- and Kerry’s countercharges that the claims are false and that Bush’s reelection campaign is the driving force behind the ads -- have largely crowded Iraq and the economy off the campaign agenda.

If voters believe the accusations against Kerry, which are contradicted by military records and witness accounts of men who were with him during the incidents, the issue could undermine Kerry’s efforts to establish himself as a credible commander in chief.

At the Democratic Party fundraiser in Philadelphia, the Massachusetts senator responded to former GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole’s statement that Kerry was only in Vietnam for four months.

“I was there for longer than that, No. 1,” said Kerry, who did not mention Dole by name. “No. 2, I served for two tours. No. 3, they thought enough of my service to make me aide to an admiral.”

Kerry called his protests against the war “an act of conscience.”

“You can judge my character, incidentally, by that,” he said. “Because when the times of moral crisis existed in this country, I wasn’t taking care of myself, I was taking care of public policy. I was taking care of things that made a difference to the life of this nation. You may not have agreed with me, but I stood up and was counted. And that’s the kind of president I’m going to be.”

Kerry has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging illegal involvement by the Bush campaign in the veterans group’s offensive against Kerry.

The Bush campaign has denied wrongdoing.

Though Kerry is trying to move the focus of the campaign to domestic matters, the Vietnam controversy continued to overshadow other topics.

Former Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, also a decorated Vietnam War veteran, rose to Kerry’s defense and demanded that Bush denounce the ads.

In a television interview, he said the group should not call itself the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

“Seven out of the 10 things they said have already been shown not to be true,” Kerrey said. “So they should call themselves ‘Republican Swift Boat Veterans Against Kerry.’ That’s who they are.”

Kerrey also criticized Dole for questioning how seriously Kerry bled from his wartime injuries.

“You don’t get a Purple Heart because you bleed a certain amount or you’re hospitalized a certain number of days,” he said. “We should not be doing this, trying to -- ‘How many stitches did you get?’ ‘Did you lose enough of your leg?’ ‘Was there enough damage?’

“This is not what we should be doing. This is not how awards should be made and how they should be debated.”

Associated Press reported Tuesday that Benjamin L. Ginsberg, a top Bush campaign lawyer, had provided legal advice to the anti-Kerry veterans group.

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said there was still “no coordination at any time” between the campaign and the veterans group.

Bush campaign Chairman Marc Racicot renewed the president’s call for banning all campaign spending by independent groups but did not denounce the anti-Kerry ads. “President Bush stands with all Americans who want to see shadowy political activity removed from American politics,” Racicot said in a statement.

Kerry’s evening remarks in Philadelphia followed a day of campaigning in New York City, where the Republican National Convention opens Monday.

“The Republican convention will focus on slogans, excuses and attack politics,” Kerry told about 850 supporters at Cooper Union, a Manhattan college.

“And mark my words, they’re going to bend over back- ward with last-minute proposals and last-minute promises to make up for all they haven’t done, and to pretend that they’re not who they really are. In fact, pretending to be something they’re not may be the single most consistent thing about them,” he said.

Kerry accused Bush and his allies of mounting a calculated effort to avoid issues most important to American voters.

“The Bush campaign and its allies have turned to the tactics of fear and smear because they can’t talk about jobs, healthcare, energy independence and rebuilding our alliances,” the candidate said.

Kerry’s speech appeared aimed partly at blunting the expected attacks against him next week at the convention, and partly at averting damage to his campaign from the Vietnam controversy.

“My duty is to be a president who tells the truth instead of hiding behind front groups saying anything and doing anything to avoid the real issues that matter like jobs, healthcare and the war in Iraq,” he said.

Later, Kerry took a ferry from Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan to the Statue of Liberty, where he admired the city skyline but remarked on the loss of the World Trade Center.

“It’s a tough view, and it always will be for anybody who ever saw the towers,” the senator said.

His motorcade later raced past the ground zero construction site at the trade center on its way to a West Side studio where he taped an appearance on Comedy Central’s “Daily Show With Jon Stewart.”

Times staff writer Matea Gold contributed to this report.