Al May, former national political reporter and now journalism professor at George Washington University, has written a fascinating account of how the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth conducted the single most effective political advertising campaign in the 2004 presidential campaign.  Initially comprising a small band of disaffected Vietnam Vets who were angry at John Kerry’s behavior during and after the war, they soon attracted some big-money Texas Republicans.

The national press did not take them seriously enough, soon enough. The article describes a scenario that may be repeated by future independent groups and offers a cautionary tale for the press.  ”Swift Boat Vets in 2004: Press Coverage of an Independent Campaign” appears in The First Amendment Law Review (Vol. 4, Fall 2005) and on Professor May’s website at GW:  http://www.gwu.edu/~smpa/faculty/albert_may.cfm