[Eva]

First of all,"orthogonal"? Give me a break, you could have used tangential or some other less obscure word, don't you think?

Now aside from that, I don't think that my point was a separate point, neither orthogonal, nor parallel. First of all I never said that Kerry lied, he just misinterpreted his own bravery and presented the lies of others as his own. He was the emcee of the Jane Fonda show, and took the responsibility of testifying about the evidence presented in the Fonda project before congress, lending an air of credibility to the findings. But, the lack of veracity is not the issue, the issue is the lack of loyalty, the willingness to believe and support the anti-American leftists who could advance his political career. The man may have demonstated bravery under fire, in a kill or be killed situation, but he lacked the guts to stand up and defend his own commrades in arms against the attacks of people like Hanoi Jane.

[ArrogantBustard]

Yes, orthogonal.
There are two questions at issue, which intersect at a single point:
1) What pieces of a candidates pre-politics background reliably predict his suitability for the office he is running for. Specifically, does prior military service predict (favourably or unfavourably) a candidates performance when in office?
2) Is Candidate John Kerry an honest man, and a suitable candidate for the office of President? Specifically, has he accurately and honestly represented his military service?

These two questions intersect at "military service". To the first, I say "no". Some military heroes have been decent politicians (T. Roosevelt). Others have been abyssmally bad politicians (John Glenn). As to the second, Mr. Kerry does not appear to have been completely honest.

You write: "The man may have demonstated bravery under fire, in a kill or be killed situation, but he lacked the guts to stand up and defend his own commrades in arms against the attacks of people like Hanoi Jane.", with which I agree. And further note that Mr. Kerry belongs to the same category as Mr. Glenn: Good soldier, lousy politician.