President Bush on Wednesday withdrew the ambassadorial nomination of businessman Sam Fox after Democrats denounced Fox for giving money to a controversial conservative group that undermined Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

Kerry, D-Mass., had criticized Fox because of a $50,000 contribution that Fox made in 2004 to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Many Democrats blame the group for sinking Kerry's presidential hopes that year after it aired a series of controversial ads that impugned Kerry's military record in the Vietnam War.

“Sam Fox had every opportunity to disavow the politics of personal destruction and to embrace the truth,” Kerry said Wednesday. “He chose not to. The White House made the right decision to withdraw the nomination. I hope this signals a new day in political discourse.”

But one of Fox's strongest backers, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., said it was “disappointing that a capable and qualified candidate with bipartisan support has become a victim of a political vendetta.”...

...Fox, 77, of St. Louis, is national chairman of the Jewish Republican Coalition and has donated well over $1 million to Republican candidates and causes since the 1990s, according to Federal Election Commission records. He was deemed a “ranger” by President Bush's campaign for helping to raise at least $200,000.

Kerry grilled Fox about the Swift Boat contribution during the Feb. 27 hearing, asking him why he gave money to a group that was “smearing and spreading lies” and had been condemned by members of both political parties.

Fox replied that he considers Kerry a hero. But he refused to call the contribution a mistake.

“When I'm asked, I just generally give,” Fox told Kerry...