The Bush campaign had already been airing ads criticizing Kerry for voting against the Iraq supplemental-appropriation bill, which included money for extra body armor and higher combat pay for the troops. In no time, they tacked on the West Virginia clip. But Kerry’s camp says the candidate has a more nuanced explanation. He had voted for a version of the bill that included an amendment to fund it by repealing some of the Bush tax cuts. But NEWSWEEK has learned that Kerry might have avoided the political mess he’s in had he listened to one of his Senate colleagues. Hillary Rodham Clinton has told friends that in the Senate cloakroom just before the final vote, she advised Kerry to vote “aye” or he’d pay a price down the road. In the end, Kerry was one of only a dozen senators to vote against the bill.
