The first duty of proper Washingtonians is to demonstrate that they are smarter than whomever they happen to be talking about. It's quite easy to fulfill this mission when you are talking about the past. It's child's play for a salad-course solon who spent the entire 1990's ignoring foreign affairs to condemn the administration piously for not focusing like a laser beam on Al Qaeda on Aug. 6, 2001.As Brooks said, "C'est délicieux!"It's harder to be a smart aleck about the future, especially in regards to Najaf and Falluja, where none of the choices are good ones. Do the Baathists win a victory every day they hold off our siege? Or if we take them out now, do we undermine Sistani? We Klieg Light Kierkegaards will give you the right answer — three years from now, after whatever option the president takes has been judged and found wanting.
According to the Los Angeles Times, "in one 24-hour period," Kerry "invoked his service" in Vietnam:
*To fend off attacks by his Republican rivals;
*As evidence he will fight to expand healthcare;
*As evidence he understands the complicated landscape in Iraq
*To explain his love of peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches.
That last one calls for an explanation: "His passion for PB&Js, Kerry told his companions, dated back to Vietnam, where he not only ate them frequently but traded them for other commodities."
This info makes me wonder if the Kerry's help has to put up with endless bloviations from Effin' about his VN days.
One more thing, Kerry traded PB&J? What, his mommy sent sandwhiches? Nobody else had access to PB&J? sheesh!