Posted on 04/26/2004 5:09:02 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
Let's see if I can kick this off.
During the promo at the beginning of the show, where he was standing by live in West Virginia, and throughout the interview itself, Kerry tried hard to keep this huge "what me worry?" smile plastered on his face. He coupled it with numerous condescending head shakes that seemed to imply "these poor benighted fools who so miserably misunderstand the greatness that is John Kerry."
Well, I live to learn! Say, since I feel cheated about only getting the ribbons, and not the medals, mebbe I could get J F'n to help - Um, on second thought. .screw the medals!
I see 11 ribbons on his chest. We've got PH, Bronze Star, Silver Star, and National Defense. What are the other 7? I doubt his unit got that many Presidential Unit Citations.
Almost impossible to say for sure but he should have had two ribbons junior to the National Defense Service Ribbon. Those would be the Vietnam Service Ribbon and, most junior, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon.
Senior to National Defense, he would certainly have a Combat Action ribbon and, most likely, a Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation in addition to the ones you mention. (I don't believe that there are medals corresponding to the Combat Action, Unit Commendation and the Vietnam Service ribbons.)
What is the relationship between the medal and the citation? If the citation is a piece of paper, isn't Kerry likely to maintain that he threw away his ribbons, but not his medals, per his GMA appearance (and in conflict with his earlier statements)? Beyond that, then he'll claim that the citations were lost or eaten by his dog and he had the citations replaced in the 80s?
In other words, the citation is a certificate of paper different from the medal? If that's so, the paper would not have been thrown over the fence? So he just claims it was lost later?
Regardless of how he tries to nuance his explanations, this just reminds people that he threw away some medals and/or ribbons that correspond to the medals. Most people are appalled by that.
If the previously big 3 networks run this story on their newscasts tonight, just the reminder of him throwing away medals (ribbons, whatever he wants to say) makes it harder for him to play the Viet Nam war hero ploy.
Here is what Kerry said:
--"George Bush has yet to explain to America whether or not to tell the truth about whether he showed up for duty."
Now, to me, the phrasing of that clearly implies the GWB has not told the truth.
Can Kerry get more low? I'm sure he can. Just watch.
What an unmitigated ass he is--running on his veteran status but putting questions about it and his anti-war activities off the table.
Anyway, the upshot was Cameron said the campaign declares they will now go after GWB's National Guard service every chance they get.
If it were just a matter of replacing a piece of paper, I agree with you. However, if he only needed a copy of the citation, there would be no need for Lehman to sign a new one. The citations from Zumwalt and Hyland would have sufficed for the Silver Star and Zumwalt alone for the Bronze Star. Lehman could just have signed a cover letter and forwarded them to Kerry.
Since we don't have the dated cover letters or the actual award nomination forms, it is difficult to figure out exactly what prompted Lehman to sign these citations at least 12 years after Kerry left Vietnam and probably longer. I am speculating that Kerry requested that his medals be reissued, which required SECNAV administratively to reissue the citation. In the case of the Silver Star, the citation wording (last sentence) is slightly different from Hyland's, which could just be a matter of changed wording for some of the boilerplate language.
I agree that throwing away the ribbons versus the medals may just be a semantic difference, but Kerry's problem is that he has stated previously that first he threw away his medals, then he changed the story in the 1980s to say that he threw away his ribbons and someone else's medals. According to Kerry, he kept his medals because he is proud of them. He has them prominently displayed in his office. If we discover that he asked to have the medals replaced, then it is no longer a semantic difference between what he meant between ribbons and medals, like he said on GMA today. A request for replacement would be equivalent of Monica's blue dress with the stain.
It is damaging to throw away one's decorations. Kerry could say that he did it as a matter of principle. But the fact that he lied about it is even more damaging. It is the old business about the cover-up being worse than the crime.
Kerry has always been on the offensive concerning his Vietnam record, probably to deter any real scrutiny. After all he is a decorated war hero and you are not. He is angry because he has a lot to hide. People are starting to examine his service records and antiwar activities much more closely than they did in Massachusetts. Unfortunately for Kerry, GWB has already weathered the National Guard storm and disclosed all of his records. Now Kerry must start answering some questions including why he bugged out after only a little more than 4 months in country.
On that note, Brit just had a military guest explain the medals/ribbons issue to the audience.
I found it interesting when at the end Brit specifically had him explain how one earns a purple heart. I think they might be looking into Kerry earning his 3 in short order...that is the impression I got.
I agree that the ribbons vs. medals controversy calls into question his honesty. Throwing away either raises questions about patriotism.
I like that graphic.
Follows on my post from last night after Nexus posted a photo of an RS flip flop:
To: NexusYou don't have a graphic for a JK flip flop? JK as in John Kerry.Just kidding. Nice graphic.
Wonder
ifhow Kerry will toggle tomorrow morning.
There is no mystery that it is Lehman's signatures and that Kerry released the documents. The speculation arises over why Lehman would be signing the citations at least 12 years after Kerry left Vietnam and the fact that we have photos of Kerry being awarded the Silver Star in 1969. Kerry needs to release more information and explain what happened.
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