[Steven W.]

1991, then-Secretary of Defense Cheney proposed cuts in our defense inventory at the end of the Cold War

This is the key - Kerry voted against the BUILD-UP of Reagan era defense in the heat of the cold war.

To compare that to Cheney's work to realign the military AFTER the fall of the Berlin Wall is to compare apples and oranges.

[jim macomber]

"1991, then-Secretary of Defense Cheney proposed cuts in our defense inventory at the end of the Cold War
This is the key - Kerry voted against the BUILD-UP of Reagan era defense in the heat of the cold war."

I frankly don't remember and am too pressed to look it up right now but wasn't this in the middle of the huge debate about the "peace benefit"? The legislative branch generates the revenue expenditures and, under the circumstances, if Cheney had a Democrat controlled Congress imposing cuts on him, he had to cut something, right?
The Dems love a no-win situation. For everybody else.