South Carolina is known for its dirty politics and no one knows more about that than Senator John McCain. He suffered despicable personal attacks by George Bush and Karl Rove during the 2000 presidential campaign, and once again he finds himself the victim of a brutal and baseless smear campaign, similar to the swift boat ads John Kerry encountered in 2004.



Keith Olbermann talked with Jonathan Alter on today’s Countdown about negative campaign ads being distributed in South Carolina attacking GOP candidates and about a particularly nasty flier attacking Senator John McCain by a group calling itself Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain that accuses the senator, who was held captive in Vietnam for some five years, of betraying his fellow POW’s during his captivity. This group’s website is really cheesy, and regardless of your political views, this kind of attack is the epitome of dirty politics. The flier is so bad the original Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group that attacked John Kerry is condemning it.

It's despicable that this sort of thing happens to anyone. Especially someone like John MCain who served honorably and suffered for his country. It's just endemic of this attitude that opponents must be destroyed at all costs. Or as I put it, they eat their own.

Now McCain did take a fundraising check from one of the leaders of the Swift Boat vets even after he publicly condemned their tactics....

Of course this begs the question, will the GOP supporters who rallied around the Swift Boat vets when they did this to John Kerry, now denounce this?