OK, that's not exactly what they said, but it's
almost as good:
Vice Adm. R.A. Route, the Navy inspector general, conducted the review of Kerry's Vietnam-era military service awards at the request of Judicial Watch, a public interest group. ...
"Our examination found that existing documentation regarding the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals indicates the awards approval process was properly followed," Route wrote in the memo sent Friday to Navy Secretary Gordon England.
"In particular, the senior officers who awarded the medals were properly delegated authority to do so. In addition, we found that they correctly followed the procedures in place at the time for approving these awards."
Of course this report got Team Bush's trademark Friday Afternoon Kiss of Death -- ensuring as little media coverage as possible. But let's hope it torpedoes the Swift Boat Smearers' credibility, at least among the general non-wingnut public.
(I'm trying to decide whether to forward this to my uncle in Ohio, who opined a few weeks back that Kerry was "a total fraud" and told me he was ordering the O'Neill/Corsi book. He may not be persuadable at this point...)