Bush withdraws envoy nominee who had Swift Boat campaign ties
Facing almost certain defeat in the Senate, the White House on Wednesday withdrew the ambassadorial nomination of Sam Fox, who contributed $50,000 to the Swift Boat veterans' controversial campaign against Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in the 2004 presidential race.
Kerry, joined by some who served with him, disputed the group's claims. But many political analysts believe that he and his campaign were slow off the mark in responding to the Swift Boat veterans and that the group's attacks hurt his credibility in his contest with Bush.
Kerry, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, subjected Fox to sharp questioning during the panel's hearing on the nomination last month. Kerry scolded him for contributing to a group the senator said was "smearing and spreading lies."
He pressed Fox on who sought the contribution, but the nominee said he could not remember. "I've given away sums much larger than that to a lot of other places and I can't tell you specifically who asked me, no."
In a statement issued shortly after the White House decision to withdraw the nomination was announced, Kerry said, "Sam Fox had every opportunity to disavow the politics of personal destruction and to embrace the truth. He chose not to."
He added: "The White House made the right decision to withdraw the nomination. I hope this signals a new day in political discourse."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... OTPA21.DTL
Once again........
