Not too “swift”
Congratulations to Michael Zeldin of the Wall Street Journal, who becomes the one-millionth person to use the phrase “swift boat” in reference to a smear campaign. Sadly, I don’t have a toaster for Mr. Zeldin.
It has been amazing to watch “swift boat” become a part of the lexicon, and with such a negative connotation. Most would likely be shocked to find out that, contrary to popular belief, nothing about the Swift boat campaign turned out to be a smear, despite John Kerry’s formation of the “Patriot Project” in 2006, the sole purpose of which was to refute the allegations:
According to the New York Times, The Patriot Project “are compiling a dossier that they say will expose every one of the Swift boat group’s charges as a lie and put to rest any question about Mr. Kerry’s valor in combat.”