Posted on 08/23/2004 1:32:15 AM PDT by kattracks
WASHINGTON - Former Sen. Bob Dole joined Vietnam Swift boat vets who question John Kerry's combat heroics, claiming yesterday the Democratic presidential candidate's three Purple Hearts got him out of the war - but without a scratch.Dole, a Kansas Republican who was horribly wounded in Italy during World War II and who lost his own presidential bid in 1996, said his "good friend" and "hero" Kerry embellished his war experiences.
"I respect his record, but three Purple Hearts and [Kerry] never bled that I know of," Dole told CNN's "Late Edition." "I mean, they're all superficial wounds."
Dole also faulted Kerry for post-Vietnam comments about military atrocities. "Maybe [Kerry] should apologize to all the other 2.5million veterans who served," Dole said.
The continued carping over Kerry's heroism appears to be taking a toll on his children.
"I just have the question of which wound do you want to see? Which scar do you need to see to prove that my father served?" Vanessa Kerry told CBS' "Face the Nation."
Last week, Kerry slammed President Bush - who has not condemned ads by the anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth - for allowing supporters to do his "dirty work."
Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman again denied that the campaign has any ties to the Swift boat spots, but hours earlier, Bush-Cheney veterans adviser Ken Cordier, who was in one of the ads, resigned.
Among other revelations touted by Kerry aides decrying the GOP "smear campaign" were reports that party leaders in Minnesota and Florida promoted the anti-Kerry group's ads with flyers and on the Web.
There also were signs that the critics' stories, while clearly hurting Kerry, are showing cracks under scrutiny. Several veterans who personally witnessed Kerry's heroics have recently come forward for the first time to defend him, and official documents also cast serious doubt on the claims of cowardice.
When "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace thrust several after-action combat reports at longtime Kerry critic Van O'Dell, the ex-gunner's mate admitted he lacks proof on paper that his former superior fabricated his deeds. "I do not have a single document," he replied. "Just seven eyewitness accounts."
Originally published on August 23, 2004
Team Kerry has desperation written all over it.
Well it doesn't matter which ones he shows us. Unless he signs a release so we can see his military records we have no idea if the scars he is showing us are the ones he got the purple hearts for. Kerry could make this all go away if he signed a release for all his records. Now go back to daddy and tell him to prove us wrong.
We have heard of the comparison of their service to their country.
Now, let us hear of their comparative records of disservice to their country.
And Earth to FNC: Enough with the pi$$ing and moaning about whether this Swift boat controversy is newsworthy. It is. If you would just investigate and answer the question of whether Kerry is an opportunistic pathological liar, IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
We report, you decide, remember?
This is getting stranger and stranger!
If Kerry's wounds were one bandaid, one contusion and one gauze patch, how can he even find them 35 years later?
Is this the daughter we've seen far too much of? I don't care to see scars from being "pushed" off his snowboard by his secret service, I want to see the original untouched military records and that common man's wife's full tax return.
One better...let's see some X-Rays. I would wager considerable money that he has nothing in his butt, as of this minute. Give that liar 30 minutes notice and he would have something surgically implanted to save his sorry @ss. Wonder how many hand scans he has gone through at airports from making the scanner go off. Answer: NONE
"I bled in Vietnam before I didn't!"
BTTT
Don't wager too heavily on that particular proposition, pal.
He is a liberal, after all. :)
This is curious too. I have a bunch of scars and my kids couldn't identify the origin of any of them.
Do you suppose he told his children stuff like "And this is where I was grievously wounded in the Battle of the Chateaubriand etc"?
Looks like the Navy needs to institute multiple sign-offs on after action reports.
I noticed that Reuters is headlining essentially the same story with "Vietnam Vet Says Has No Proof for Claim Kerry Lied". Don't courts accept eyewitness accounts as proof? Or are just documents "proof" these days?
Bring on the microscope!
Why the hell is Vanessa Kerry on Face the Nation??
Kerry will regret he brought up Vietnam. It was a controversial war and still is. It's sheared in the american psyche. He opened a can of worms.
How to tell someone is lying.
1. Their eyes cast down when they lie.
2. They add too much.
3. Nervous laughter.
4. They feign ignorance about something you know they know.
5. They take charge of the conversation to distract/divert you.
6. They play on your friendship: asking you to just trust them,
7. You sense that something is off; any clue will do.
8. You find YOUR eyes squinting and your head angling several degrees.
9. When you ask for an explanation/clarification, there's a momentary gap while they conjure up something.
10. Explanations are given, that, while plausible, aren't good enough for YOU.
This piece was originally submitted by Thomas J. Leonard, Infopreneur, who can be reached at thomas@thomasleonard.com, or visited on the web.
Document are not MAGIC.
In this case, the documents allegedly were written by Kerry.
So we have dueling eye-witness reports.
Kerry's report vs. seven of his fellow sailors.
Who are you going to believe?
A new twist in the " I saved the hamster" story?
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