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Ethics of Managing Perception

Jada Vasconcelos
PBRL 450 FIWW
Professor Hamlin
February 22, 2015

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When I think back to this election, I do not remember the Swift Boat
campaign. I would have most likely agreed with the veterans in their
campaign against Kerry due to my nature of being raised to hold veterans to
a much higher standard. But also to this same point- Kerry was a widely
recognized war hero who also was held to a much higher standard in public
opinion due to his service to our country. The debate over credibility between
the veterans and Kerry himself would have been a difficult argument for
myself during this time.
The knowledge of a PR agency helping position the story made me
very disappointed. My perception did not change significantly as the
foundations for the accusations still remained the same and the allegations
were unwavering with or without the help of a PR professional. The
allegations made against The PR agency is always responsible for
researching the facts. It was made very clear that there were no cold hard
facts brought to the surface to show that Kerry had not earned his medals
while serving in Vietnam.
The perception and the image of any individual making a claim impacts
our perception always. In our own human nature, we will always put more
faith behind a clean cut, mature individual, especially if they are a veteran.
Our society has taught us to respect and to have honor for those who serve
our country. This respect translates into a higher valued perception of the
individual. This high valued perception was manipulated by a group's ulterior
motives for unprincipled slander to smear Kerry's campaign in 2004. This

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attack was unsubstantiated and was utter slander. The campaign was not
ethical as it was a direct attack on Kerry's character and was unsubstantiated
with facts. The claims made against him remained unproven and Kerry was
left with a publicly tainted veteran image.
The veterans who took part in the Swift Boat campaign were intent on
discrediting Kerry for being a war-hero and discrediting the value in the
medals he had received. Many people fell for the deception of their
aggressive campaign smear. It was an unfair attack on his character and has
forever changed the way Americans view campaign smears.

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References
Manjoo, F. (2008). True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society.
Hoboken, New

Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. ISBN: 978-0-470-05010-1.