FLORENCE, S.C., Feb. 4 -- Gov. George W. Bush was slammed today by five senators who, like his chief rival, fought in Vietnam for using a veterans activist to criticize Senator John McCain's record on veterans issues.

The incident also drew a rebuke from an official of Mr. Bush's father's administration.

On Thursday Mr. Bush shared a stage in Sumter, S.C., with J. Thomas Burch Jr., chairman of the National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Committee, who said Mr. McCain, hailed as a hero for surviving five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, had opposed measures dealing with Agent Orange and gulf war syndrome as well as legislation to help families of soldiers missing in action in Vietnam.

"He came home, forgot us," Mr. Burch said.

In the letter to Mr. Bush, the senators said: "We are writing to express our dismay at the misinformed accusations leveled by your surrogate."

"These allegations are absolutely false," said the letter signed by Senators Max Cleland of Georgia, Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Charles S. Robb of Virginia, all Democrats, and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a Republican and one of Mr. McCain's few supporters in the Senate.

"Indeed," it went on, "Mr. Burch was a leading critic of President Reagan's and your father's policies on POW/MIA issues, and he vehemently opposed a historic effort led by the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs carried out on a bipartisan basis which resulted in the declassification of millions of documents and the identification and return to the United States of the remains of hundreds of American servicemen who were missing in action."

The senators wrote that Mr. McCain was a leader on veterans issues. "We hope you will publicly disassociate yourself from these efforts, and apologize to Senator McCain."

Referring to the senators, Mr. McCain said: "Their friendship is all the honor I need in my life, and more than compensates for the temporary irritation of baseless attacks by apparently desperate political campaigns."

Aides to Mr. Bush said he never questioned Mr. McCain's status as a war hero and called the McCain campaign's efforts to counter Mr. Burch's criticism desperate.

"This shows that the McCain campaign is worried about the strong support Gov. Bush has from veterans," said Scott McClellan, a Bush spokesman.

But some criticism came from a Bush supporter. Edward T. Timperlake, who was assistant secretary of veterans affairs under Mr. Bush's father, President George Bush, said in an interview that the criticism of Mr. McCain was undeserved.

Mr. Timperlake, who is supporting Mr. Bush, said that Mr. McCain has a good record on veterans affairs and that "attacking John McCain on veterans affairs is just wrong. It's over the line."

Campaigning in South Carolina today, Mr. McCain drew crowds so huge that organizers have been searching out bigger venues.

At a medieval-theme restaurant in Myrtle Beach this morning, well over a thousand people packed every inch of floor, stair and hallway space, even spilling out the front door.

Mr. McCain, clearly buoyed by the energy of the room, gave a stump speech in which he declared, "A primary ended on Tuesday night and a crusade began."

Later in the day, a crowd squeezed into a National Guard armory here, where a sign on the front door read: "Occupancy by more than 720 persons is dangerous and unlawful." The audience was pushing the limit but everybody's attention was on the table of McCain stickers, posters, pamphlets and contribution forms, all of which were moving briskly.

Despite the aura of excitement, Mr. McCain is warning his backers against overconfidence, noting that polls, and a campaign's fortunes, can sway dramatically from one moment to the next.

"I've been involved in too many campaigns to have any degree of confidence here," Mr. McCain said aboard his campaign bus, which is trailed by two overflow buses.

"I'm pleased we're doing well at this particular time. We've seen a huge swing -- 20 points or more in South Carolina. I think the message there is that it can swing back just as easily."

Mr. McCain said he is seeking to assemble the same type of coalition that had propelled Ronald Reagan to the presidency, a broad-based, centrist approach he said President Clinton had also successfully employed.

"I think we can win with hard-core conservatives but I would be honored to have independents as well as Reagan Democrats," he said, indicating he would accept the backing of the Reform Party as well but would not change his message to win it.

He said he welcomes "libertarians, vegetarians, all of them."

Not to mention veterans, who eat up Mr. McCain's war stories and salutes to patriotism.

"I like George Bush but he's not as well qualified as McCain," said Bill Griffith, 75, a commander of a veterans association in Florence. He had made what was for him a rare appearance at a political rally and, on his way out, even picked up a form to donate to Mr. McCain's campaign. "This is new for me to attend one of these," Mr. Griffith said. "This is just a guy who makes sense to me."

The Bush campaign has stepped up its criticism of Mr. McCain in recent days.

After Mr. Bush suggested today that Mr. McCain was using his chairmanship of the Senate commerce committee for political advantage, Mr. McCain responded that his main rival was showing "a little sign of desperation."

"Why doesn't George Bush explain his positions on the issues?" Mr. McCain said, clearly relishing the notion, for now, of being the candidate to beat.

"I've got the megaphone now," he said. "The challenge for me is to keep the momentum going."

-- Vern (bacon17@ibm.net), February 06, 2000

Answers

Snip:

"and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a Republican and one of Mr. McCain's few supporters in the Senate. "

Why doesn't Senator McCain have more support in the Senate ??

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), February 06, 2000.

Gov. Bush and Sen. McCain would do well to remember and heed Pres. Reagans 11th commandment. The Left is the enemy here; best to not forget that. Semper Fi....Chu Lai, RVN, 1968-69.

-- JB (noway@jose.com), February 06, 2000.

The left is engineering a contest to sap the funds of the right. They are terrified that after the primaries the fund depleted Al would be susceptible to high stakes media campaign before they can get another cash infusion from the Chinese and coerced Union dues. The media is playing nice to McCain because he is the best democrat the republicans are fielding at the moment. Looking at how much book cooking is going on in the .gov, anybody but Al would be cut from beneath by starting to issue real numbers that makes the economy go south (if its not there already).

-- Squid (ItsDark@down.here), February 06, 2000.

Get a grip, friend. The contest is not being "engineered by the left"? I'm a vet and never voted for a demo in my life, and I tell you, I'm voting for McCain next week. That makes me a demo, huh? Sure surprises me.

Bush ain't no conservative. Look at his character, his drug binges as a youth, his life of luxury and money and insider dealing. He's a manufactured candidate by the establishment, pure and simple. He didn't have the guts to serve in Vietnam, he didn't have the guts to make his own way in the world. It's a shame that some well-meaning conservatives have been suckered in by that man.

And you talk about the demo's financing? Hell, that's what McCain has been trying to fix. And who has been opposed? Bush! Old Al will kick his butt on that issue, since Bush's record is even worse than Al. Man, we'd better get a real republican to run, or it's all over this year. And McCain is the only real republican I see, except maybe for Keyes, who isn't electable.

-- Jacob (jacobc14@aol.com), February 06, 2000.

Listen My friend:

You do not the country make. Note I made no call pro or con on Bush. McCain won the Rep primary with tons of "independents." The media has given him a pass on tough coverage and if you have monitored the talking head shows even the media is admitting that McCain as a low second didn't get the scrutiny that Bush did. His talk is left of center which in the minds of the media is considered moderate. Whichever rep candidate wins the second place winner as the V.P would make a very tough ticket (true or false?). There is talk that McCain has talked a lot and the media is watiing for the race with Gore to bring out the "odd statement" and "out of context quote" to ensure the emperors policies remain for 4 more years.

My beef is with the established media, and the policies shifts McCain is making from his record in Arizona. McCain will have to carry wins into Az because he might have trouble in his home state.

Vote for whoever you wish, but if you get your issues and opinions from the major media you deserve the Gulag.

-- Squid (ItsDark@down.here), February 06, 2000.