Posted on 04/26/2004 10:21:07 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Vietnam war, the defining moment in Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites)'s life, has become a political battlefield for him with Republicans raising questions about his combat record and later anti-war activities.
With Bronze and Silver stars and three Purple Hearts for combat wounds to his credit, Kerry's service would seem beyond challenge. But Republican suggestions that he has not told the entire story have left him defensive and enraged.
"This comes from a president (George W. Bush) who can't even show or prove that he showed up for duty in the National Guard, and I'm not going to stand for it. I'm not going to stand for it," he told ABC television Monday.
Over the last week the Republicans have chided the Massachusetts senator for being slow to release his combat records, raised doubts over one of his Purple Hearts, and effectively called him a hypocrite as an anti-war protester.
The latest charge stems from a 1971 peace rally at which Kerry and other veterans flung away a bunch of decorations. Bush aides say statements by Kerry then and now suggest he dissembled on whether he discarded his own medals.
Senior Bush adviser Karen Hughes said Sunday on CNN she was "very troubled by the fact that he (Kerry) participated in the ceremony where veterans threw their medals away and he only pretended to throw his. ... I think that's very revealing."
It was the latest thrust in a determined Republican assault on Kerry's credibility that has taken a toll on the Democrat ahead of the November 2 election. Polls show less than half of voters see him as a honest and trustworthy, sharply down from last month.
Kerry, who emerged from the war harshly critical of US policy, says he threw away his ribbons and later the medals of two veterans at the protest rally which was documented on film. "I never asserted otherwise," he told ABC.
The senator said he was the victim of a 'phony controversy" and, in any case, ribbons and medals were the same thing when it comes to combat decorations.
Democrats are fuming over the Republican tactics, particularly on the issue of military service where Kerry's distinguished record in Vietnam contrasts with Bush's avoidance of combat through his enrollment in the Texas Air National Air Guard.
"What we have seen is a smear campaign against John Kerry," Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee (news - web sites), told Fox News television Monday.
"John Kerry is a war hero. You cannot say that about George Bush. You cannot say that about (Vice President) Dick Cheney (news - web sites). ... I got to tell you, Dick Cheney said he didn't serve because he had other priorities."
The exchanges over military service come with both campaigns moving into high gear to attack each other over the issue of defense amid polls showing security questions moving high on the agenda of US voters.
Cheney was due to deliver a major address Monday that will repeat Republican attacks on Kerry as weak and waffling, and question his suitability as a commander-in-chief. The Bush campaign is also running new ads highlighting various weapons systems Kerry voted against in the Senate.
McAuliffe pre-emptively responded Monday, accusing Cheney of "hypocrisy" after trying to kill 81 major weapons programs, including many used today in Iraq (news - web sites), while secretary of defense under Bush's father from 1989 to 1993.
The younger Bush has put the accent on security issues in his campaign, describing himself as a "war" president combating global terrorism after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Kerry has sought to keep the focus on the economy, considered the top issue by voters.
Polls show voters preferring Bush by a wide margin over Kerry when it comes to handling Iraq and the war on terrorism. They also show the president closing the gap on the economy.
I wonder how many mine workers will vote for President Bush this November? :-)
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), D-Mass., left, speaks with Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, right, while touring the McElroy Mine, in Glen Easton, W. Va., Monday, April 26, 2004. The coal mine extends for miles underground and is over a thousand feet deep. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Yes, you are, John.
Yes, you are.
Why , Yes, Katie.
I do have all the necessary paperwork filed to run for President.
At one point Kerry remarked that the mine reminded him of his days as a tunnel rat while serving in Vietnam.
:-p
Prince John ping
Time for an x42treme makeover?
Former US first lady Hillary Clinton (news - web sites)(AFP/File/Yoav Lemmer)
Him and Forrest Gump.
He was only there for 3 months until he put up his white flag and started waving it and RAN. And the frog has been croaking like a BULL-Frog ever since.
Time for an x42treme makeover?
Former US first lady Hillary Clinton (news - web sites)(AFP/File/Yoav Lemmer)
Just ran across the fact that the Mona Lisa is deteriorating.
Hillary! is similarly deteriorating.
Too bad. How sad.
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