By CHUCK RAASCH
Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON - The presidential campaign of 2004, which takes place amid new global terrorist threats, has for days resonated with the ghosts of Vietnam. And the longest political campaign in U.S. history hasn't even come to its traditional starting point.

With vacations to take or bills to pay, you may not be paying full attention. Here's what you've missed:

Vietnam re-emerges

A group of Vietnam veterans calling themselves "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" have run two ads and published a book questioning whether Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry really earned his three Purple Hearts and two medals for valor while he was captain of a Navy swift boat in Vietnam in 1969.

Veterans who served directly with Kerry defend him. His campaign changed plans to save its advertising budget this month and began running an ad featuring Jim Rassmann, a former Special Forces soldier who credits Kerry with saving his life.

It's gotten nasty. President Bush has said he has honored Kerry's service but has not repudiated the anti-Kerry ads, which have been partially financed by a wealthy Texas Republican. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group says it is an independent group with no ties to Bush.

"The president keeps telling people he would never question my service to our country," Kerry told the International Association of Fire Fighters. "Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded attack group does just that. Well, if he wants to have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: 'Bring it on.' "

The pro-Kerry MoveOn.org political action committee has run ads accusing Bush of using connections to his father to shirk Air National Guard duty during Vietnam. Kerry said he thought the ad was unfair, but it continued to run.

Vietnam is really a surrogate battle for who is the toughest and most truthful leader in the war against terrorism. The swift boat ads show the power of the modern media echo chamber: Although only airing as a commercial in Wisconsin, Ohio and West Virginia, it has been widely shown for free on numerous network programs. A study by the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey said more than half of Americans polled ;said they had seen or heard about the ad.

It's still close

The Democratic National Convention did not help Kerry open up a wide lead in national or state polls, as some Kerry supporters had hoped. After several months where his support was eroding because of worries about the war in Iraq, Bush goes into his New York convention Aug. 30-Sept. 2 poised to regain momentum by Labor Day.

Labor Day used to be the traditional start of the presidential campaign. But with well over $200 million already spent on campaign advertising, a Labor Day start is history.

In national polls and battleground states such as Ohio, Florida and Iowa, recent polls have shown that Bush and Kerry are within the margin of error of each other.

Money talks - even more

Despite attempts to clamp down on the influence of big donors, 2004 is on pace for another money record.

Less than four dozen of the 435 House races appear to be competitive, yet House candidates raised more than $460 million from January 2003 through June of this year, according to the Federal Election Commission. That means fund raising is up 14.5 percent from 2002.

Only about a third of the 34 Senate races appear to be competitive, yet candidates raised nearly $338 million through June of this year, up 67 percent.

Big "soft money" donations to political parties are prohibited under new campaign laws, but "independent" groups like America Coming Together - prominent Democratic operatives intent on beating Bush - have stepped in. Through mid-August, these groups have raised $271 million, according to the Center for Public Integrity. That's more than half the total "soft money" donations raised by the Democrats and Republicans in all of the 2000 campaign.

Sound of music

It's not exactly "Happy Days are Here Again," but an unprecedented number of musicians are involved in this election. While country singers like the Gatlin Brothers play backup to Bush, rock and rap groups are trying to drum him out of office.

An example: Nearly two dozen groups or performers - from Bruce Springsteen to Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals - will tour swing states in a "Vote for Change" tour this fall. If you buy a ticket, you automatically make a federal political contribution to the America Coming Together group mentioned above.