POLITICS -- All We Have to Fear is the Next 71 Days

Breaking the Silence. The only other living officer of the swift boat raids for which Senator John Kerry won the Silver Star is telling his story. It matches with Kerry’s. William Rood is an editor at the Chicago Tribune. He’s closing ranks with Kerry’s crewmen and criticizing the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth as being untruthful. (Chicago Tribune)

Flip Flop. Meanwhile, George Elliot, one of the Swifties who blast’s Kerry in the commercial, praised him in 1969 for his heroism under fire. In navy documents, Elliott states that Kerry "exhibited all of the traits desired of an officer in a combat environment." (The Smoking Gun)

Swift Denial -- Swift Departure. The White House and the Bush Campaign both claim they have nothing to do with the swift boat ads. But Saturday, Ken Cordier resigned from the veterans steering committee on the Bush campaign. This comes after it turns out he participated in one of the Swift Boat groups’ anti-Kerry ads. (AP)

Clash of War Heroes. Former Senator Bob Dole -- the 1996 Republican Presidential Nominee -- is calling on Senator Kerry to apologize for testimony to Congress addressing atrocities in the Vietnam War. Kerry’s testimony consisted of him telling Congress what he’d heard from other Vietnam veterans. Dole also called on Kerry to release all of his military records saying that Kerry “never bled” from his wounds. Kerry has already released records, including after action reports and his Coastal Division‘s command history. (MSNBC)

Take This Job and Shove It. A West Virginia man got fired for heckling President Bush at a campaign rally. Glenn Hiller says it’s worth it. A client of his firm had given him the ticket to the Bush rally. He should have figured there‘s a 50-50 chance someone‘s going to either cheer or heckle. (CNN)

Broken Arrow. West Palm Beach County -- home to the confusion over the “butterfly ballot” four years ago -- has a new absentee ballot. Voters have to connect broken arrows to indicate who they’re voting for. Why get fancy? After the mess in 2000, you’d think ballot designers would “check that off” to experience. (WashPost)

Maybe the New York Ballot is Easier to Understand. Snowbirds are voting it two places during the same elections. People who live in New York City and Florida -- splitting time between the two -- are registering in both places. The New York Daily News has found between 400 and 1,000 people who’ve voted in both New York and Florida in both elections. Enough to tilt an election in Florida -- if you remember 2000. Registering in both places is illegal. But neither state is cross checking voter rolls. (NYDN)