Posted on 04/26/2004 6:20:10 PM PDT by jmstein7
An angry-sounding John Kerry denied Monday morning that he ever claimed to have thrown away his three Purple Hearts and two medals for combat valor during an April 1971 anti-war demonstration, blaming Republicans for the new controversy and blasting President Bush's National Guard record.
"This comes from a president and a Republican Party that can't even answer whether or not he showed up for duty in the National Guard," a seething Kerry told "Good Morning America's" Charlie Gibson.
Kerry was responding to a 1971 interview unearthed by ABC News in which he told WRC-TV that he "gave back" somewhere between six and nine of his medals during a Washington, D.C., demonstration days earlier. News coverage of the episode shows Kerry and other Vietnam veterans throwing medals onto the steps of the Capitol building.
When pressed by WRC on whether the medals he "gave back" included his Purple Hearts and his other medals for valor, he replied, "Well, above that, I gave back my others."
But Kerry insisted to GMA that there was nothing to the story, and again tried to shift the focus to President Bush.
"This is being pushed yesterday by Karen Hughes in the White House on Fox. It shows up on several different stations at the same time," he complained. "This comes from a president 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."
As Gibson continued to press Kerry for answers, the Democratic presidential candidate raised Bush's service record for a third time.
"George Bush has yet to explain to America whether or not - and tell the truth about whether he showed up for duty. I'm not going to get attacked on something that I did that is a matter of record."
Challenged on the discrepancy between what he told WRC and what he says now, Kerry told Gibson, "Back then, ribbons, medals were absolutely interchangeable," insisting that he never said he had returned his combat medals.
But this is damaging him. The Vietnam hero/protestor triangulation that the Dems thought was unbeatable turns out to be predictably shallow because everybody in the country doesn't agree that the protestors were right, but pretty much everybody in the media, and certainly everybody in the DNC, does. They're simply as out of touch with the truth of the matter now as they were in 1971.
Well aside from being way off the mark, since over 9500 Guardsmen and thousands of Reservists were, in fact, deployed to Vietnam, along with at least 35 Reserve units, you miss my point. Kerry and his ilk, again, as late as yesterday, have called President Bush an outright shirker for joining the Air National Guard in lieu of being sent to Vietnam. He and his punk ass DNC chairman have denigrated the honorable service of millions of Guard and Reserve soldiers, marines, seamen and airmen in the process. I'm looking forward to some payback in the voting booths.
Not to anybody who knows anything about military decorations. There is a huge difference between medals and the ribbons that represent them. Maybe it's only a difference of perception, but it's an important distinction.
Ribbons can be bought at the exchange and are worn on the everyday working uniform. Medals are awarded and are worn on the dress uniform. They are special. But apparently not to Kerry, who can't tell the difference.
Ah, another lie--Bush released all of his records. Why don't you do the same, Mr. Kerry?
Does that mean everybody in the Guard was a shirker? I have to ask myself if 9,500 NGs who "went" were shirkers. Obviously they weren't, but then again, an awful lot of them ended up "going" because they missed too many drills and their officers decided to force them into active duty where they could get sent to Nam and die (as did 900 of them).
Let me cynically suggest that it's a little bit late for you Guard partisans to begin clasping some of our active duty Viet Nam War heroes to your breasts. You tossed them to us. They got killed in the war. It's over. Get over it!
Still, there's the matter of what Kerry did. He joined the Navy. During that same critical period it really wasn't any different than the National Guard or any Reserve.
The risk of death, dismemberment or maiming in a war during that period of time was much less in the Guard, Reserves, Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard than in the Army combat arms, or the Marine Corps.
Kerry got fooled. The Navy had these small boats and each one needed an officer. He got to do target practice. Bet it was a real surprise to him. The record shows he got out of there as fast as he could.
When you say "they are just as out of touch today as they were in 1971", I agree.
I'm a Nam vet and I never would have considered throwing my medals away. I have never known nor met a Nam guy who felt differently.
Kerry disgraced his own service, and slandered the rest of us who served.
He is unworthy yet has the pompous arrogance to presume he should be the Commander in Chief.
I suggest we be vigilant in stopping him and the DNC from attempting to suppress (as they did in 2000) the overseas absentee military ballot.
The 2000 election is proof that they know they don't have the troops support.
Thanks for inserting that reminder, GA. Just two months ago, Kerry had party stooges like McAuliffe to do his dirty work for him and could pretend to be above the fray. But the first time he gets asked a hard question by the media, he can't stop gibbering about the settled matter of Bush's service record.
Beginning of alzheimers?
Was it not the Dems who just forced even GW's dental records out for 'public scrutiny'?
What a great play for Kerry; yes, throw down the gauntlet; play the victim; knowing that most people will not remember how this story began.
Have to disagree on this one. I've no idea where my medals are, nor do I care. I know what I am authorized to wear & the ribbons, to me, are the medals.
Kerry, I think, is trying to distinguish between throwing non-Medals (longevity awards, etc) and throwing real medals that mean a lot to people - Purple Hearts, etc. And he has already stated he threw the Purple Hearts (which he didn't earn), Bronze & Silver Stars (ditto) and others.
He's trying to have it both ways - and that is part of what is hurting him.
The other part that hurts him is his thin-skin and condensention - "No, Charlie, you didn't see what you saw!"
It is different from Clinton because Clinton didn't publicly get pissed off and talk down to his willing allies in the press.
Then you are in great shape. The man couldn't even win a dem nomination when he was actually running and you think he can win the general election?
Look up "lightweight" in the dictionary...John Edwards' pic is right there.
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