Posted on 08/11/2004 1:45:39 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
John Edwards is supposed to be a great lawyer but at the recent Democratic convention he made a rookie mistake: He raised a question without knowing the answer. "If you have any questions about what John Kerry's made of, just spend three minutes with the men who served with him," he said. Edwards meant Kerry's "band of brothers" - the small entourage of vets who served under him in Vietnam and now strongly support him for President.
Evidently, Edwards did not know at the time that almost every officer who commanded Kerry or served alongside him opposes his candidacy. Worse, they have formed a group, Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, that claims more than 250 members.
Their case against Kerry is set forth in a new book, "Unfit for Command," co-written by longtime Kerry critic John O'Neill, and in a TV ad from the group.
Kerry's critics in arms allege that he didn't deserve one of his Purple Hearts and his Bronze Star. They make these claims on the basis of firsthand knowledge. But combat is notoriously confusing, and soldiers in the heat of battle make poor witnesses. Kerry deserves the benefit of the doubt. If the Navy says he won his medals fair and square, that's good enough for me.
What Kerry did (or didn't do) in Cambodia is a different matter.
On March 27, 1986, Kerry told his fellow senators: "I remember Christmas of 1968, sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and the President of the United States telling the American people that I was not there, the troops were not in Cambodia.
"I have that memory, which is seared - seared - in me."
Here's the problem: Kerry's commanding officers and some of his crew members reportedly deny that he was in Cambodia on Christmas 1968. They say he was stationed near the town of Sa Dec, 55 miles from the Cambodian border.
Kerry's people are trying hard to discredit his discreditors. They call "Unfit for Command" co-author O'Neill a Republican hack with a decades-long grudge against Kerry. They say Texas moneymen close to Karl Rove are behind the TV spots and are warning TV stations, in writing, not to air them. They maintain that the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth are motivated by jealousy of Kerry or anger at his post-Vietnam anti-war activities. They want to dismiss all questions about Kerry's war record as sleazy slander.
Sorry, but that's not going to wash. The issue is not whether the charges against Kerry are politically motivated (they obviously are) or who is paying for them. There's just one relevant question: Are the allegations true? Specifically, is it true he lied about being in Cambodia.
Unlike the debate over Kerry's medals, this is a matter that can be checked and verified. If it turns out Kerry was there, the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth are liars and their charges are, in the words of Kerry's friend John McCain, "dishonest and dishonorable." But if he wasn't there, the Kerry campaign is saddled with a problem it can't solve by calling Republicans names, threatening TV stations or even bringing up President Bush's less than stellar war record.
Kerry has staked his candidacy on Vietnam. His running mate has publicly invited the country to judge Kerry by listening to his comrades in arms. A lot of them, to Edwards' obvious chagrin, are saying that John Kerry is unfit for command.
If it turns out he made up the story of Christmas in Cambodia, they could very well be right.
One of the authors of a new book critical of John F. Kerry frequently posted comments on a conservative website describing Muslims and Catholics as pedophiles and Pope John Paul II as senile. But as he prepared to launch the book, ''Unfit for Command," Jerry Corsi, who owns a financial services company, apologized for the remarks in an interview yesterday, saying they were meant as a joke and he never intended to offend anyone. (AP)
Complaints target anti-Kerry veterans
Three campaign finance watchdog groups filed a complaint yesterday accusing a group of Vietnam veterans of violating the campaign finance law by airing an ad that challenges Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry's military record. Democracy 21, the Center for Responsive Politics, and the Campaign Legal Center argue that the ad by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth violates a federal ban on the use of unlimited donations to influence elections. In the ad, the group accuses Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, of lying about his war record. Veterans who served with Kerry on his swiftboat have said the group is lying, and Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona has called the ad ''dishonest and dishonorable." Mike Russell, a spokesman for Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, said the ad is legal because it does not tell viewers which candidate they should vote for in the presidential race. (AP)
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/08/11/contest_may_decide_control_of_senate/
they will Bash the Swift Vets. They will say they were from the Bush camp. But in the end they will come to the same conclusion as this paper: John Kerry got some 'splainin to do.
How do those comments on FR have anything to do with the Kerry controversy??
Well, his campaign has already come out and said he was "near Cambodia", not "in Cambodia."
So I guess we know the answer.
Will it make a difference to ABB voters, I don't think so. They are so blinded by hatred for Bush, they don't care.
And when Clinton's past was brought up, the American people didn't seem to care either.
Only difference is that Clinton wasn't running on his career as a womanizer and Kerry is running on his career as a war hero.
I don't know where those comments (post #2) printed by the Boston Globe and reported by the AP came from but I posted them to show how the Left is going to dig into these men's lives and spread it around.
Why isn't the media asking Kerry to release his records and for Theresa Kerry to release her tax returns?
The vet's exposure of Kerry's duplicity will dampen the zeal for Kerry. It will depress the vote for Kerry.
The public forgave Clinton for his past infidelity in 1992 AFTER he came clean with them. If Kerry owes up to the truth about Cambodia, he may find the public in a similar mood. It all depends on how he chooses to respond to the episode.
and they won't do that.
Sooner or later the media almost has to make them answer the questions. No matter how much the media wants to hide it they won't be able to.
Their strategy is to use ad hominem attacks and divert the attention from the Swift Vets claims, and eventually interest will subside.
The same thing happened with the first press release by the Swift Vets earlier in the year. We didn't hear from them again until last week.
Pro-Swift Vets should say, it doesn't matter if they are the most evil men on the planet, the real issue is whether there is any truth to their claims.
LIBERALS never care about what people DO - it's what people SAY they will do that tickles their fancy.
Even this newspaper, not a conservative paper, says that it comes down to Kerry answering these questions.
A close associate hints: There's a secret compartment in Kerry's briefcase. He carries the black attaché everywhere. Asked about it on several occasions, Kerry brushed it aside. Finally, trapped in an interview, he exhaled and clicked open his case.
"Who told you?" he demanded as he reached inside. "My friends don't know about this."
The hat was a little mildewy. The green camouflage was fading, the seams fraying.
"My good luck hat," Kerry said, happy to see it. "Given to me by a CIA guy as we went in for a special mission in Cambodia."
Kerry put on the hat, pulling the brim over his forehead. His blue button-down shirt and tie clashed with the camouflage. He pointed his finger and raised his thumb, creating an imaginary gun. He looked silly, yet suddenly his campaign message was clear: Citizen-soldier. Linking patriotism to public service. It wasn't complex after all; it was Kerry.
He smiled and aimed his finger: "Pow."
He can't very well explain this away by saying he may have made a navigation mistake. This is an out and out fabrication. Link to story HERE.
Has that article ever been posted?
bump
"Nuts and sluts" defense. You remember Monica, the "stalker" don't you? Standard Demoncrat and MSM Operating Procedure. Slander your opponent with ad hominems and hope that the voters don't check out the veracity of your opponents' claims.
And the dummies just nod their head in agreement.
http://www.iowapresidentialwatch.com/cartoonarc/CambodiaLie.htm
A pretty funny picture about Kerry's "Christmas in Cambodia." And it's funny becuase it's (probably) true!
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