Kerry campaign implosion + collapse becoming truly sad & pathetic

The latest efforts by John Kerry supporters going back to the Bush AWOL stuff is amongst a legacy of stuff cooked up or repackaged the Democrats over the years Bush has been a public figure and not something which is going to make any difference in this election. It was re-introduced to help prop up the "Bush Lied" propaganda as well as to help either Howard Dean (who went skiing on his deferments), John Edwards (who didn't serve anywhere ever at all) or John Kerry (then believing his war record and thinking it could pit a strength against weakness). Recall in 1992 John Kerry took to the floor of the Senate and decried any consideration of Bill Clinton's burning his draft card or protesting against the US from foreign soil. If there was a real issue to be had there then GHWB #41 would have been seen as preferable to Clinton and we'd be calling Bob Dole "President", not "Senator", today.

All this stuff truly does is weaken John Kerry and further perpetuates him as a candidate focused on the past and still fighting a 30 year old war. Meanwhile Bush comes out with his convention speech and effectively introduces a forward looking agenda - dispute it or debate on or of the merits aside - that even his most strident critics (read David Broder in Washington Post) had to admire. Kerry's whole convention was focused nearly entirely on Vietnam including the absurdly stupid Dukakis-tank-pose-esque "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty!" silliness. The Bush campaign was wise to avoid it and are lucky that John O'Neill was swept into the campaign when he watched the first replaying of the Dick Cavett debate from 1971.

NY Times conspiracy charts aside - it's truly as it seems; O'Neill was in the hospital after giving a kidney to his wife; he saw the debate replayed on C-SPAN (as did I). A couple weeks later C-SPAN folks tracked him down and had him on as a guest in their weekday interview + call-in program. The SwiftVets were already irked from Kerry's appearance at their reunion the prior year and all were approaching boiling point after reading Kerry's authorized biography "Tour of Duty" by Douglas Brinkley (seeing how events were mis-portrayed, realizing Kerry had been lying to them, individually, and filing false reports, etc., on top of reminding them of his 1971 testimony and anti-war escapades, not to mention the FOIA request of VVAW records from the FBI revealing / confirming Kerry met with Madame Binh and the Vietnamese Communists at the Paris Peace Talks in France). All of these things are the origin of "Unfit for Command" and the SwiftVets' efforts to help defeat him.

Now, here's what some know that most folks don't and why I'm really, really laughing when reading the advice coming out from Susan Estrich and their like in response to the RNC last week that Kerry hasn't been mean enough, etc., the level of hate being espoused so far is not high enough, yet, even the "Bush = Hitler" stuff isn't over the top enough yet, so they're going to start dumping all their garbage back out again ... only, this time, with a higher level of hyperbolic vitriol, this has all the makings of a Dukakis level landslide and I imagine now just a matter of time before the Deaniacs start abandoning Kerry in droves once they realized how much they've been played as true suckers and outright fools by the DNC and Kerry campaign. From the other side it's truly hilarious & the meltdown in the press and actual, unbelievable implosion witnessed live, nationwide on Thursday night, with Kerry at best drunk and, at worst, totally incapable of sustaining any acceptable level of decency and composure, is really, truly amazing for a modern day presidential campaign.

Kerry's service experience - is not as being portrayed for the media. Set aside the fact he went, he served and faced combat - which warrants praise, honor & respect. Kerry would have been wise to have kept it like that but, the problem is, he's a one trick pony. All he's ever done in his life worthy of any real accolade is his Vietnam service. His senate record and other experiences since, while appealing to the left, is not something he wants anybody truly investigating (why nothing from 1970-s through today was discussed at the Democrat National Convention). In the past he's relied on the same set of tactics & we witnessed exactly the same M/O in the 1996 Weld race. The only problem for him here, today, is that he had to use Rassman during the primaries, to win Iowa, when Rassman had long been tucked away for his presidential race. Seriously, every campaign he's run has resulted in his spontaneous "finding" and bringing out of somebody from his boat, to great accolades, upon which he follows-up by attacking his opponent(s) for not serving in one way or another. The primaries also brought forth Fred Short (who served with him for a few days and was rewarded himself on the very first as Kerry plotted his Silver Star scenario). Rassman - I truly believe, based on his way of doing these things every time in the past - was long held in reserve for "grand reunion" to take him over the top in the Presidential Campaign - but things didn't work out that way; Dean spiked and Kerry had to pull Rassman up, once again, to win the Democrat primaries, leaving him without anybody left for the campaign season now.

Now here's where Kerry's vulnerable today & why this AWOL stuff is so, so, so stupid for them to be using, considering, however, they didn't use their convention to put forth any agenda and now don't have anything left:

Kerry has effectively refused to release his military and medical records. Reviewing the records on his site reveal any number of disparities which the Navy has now officially noted indicate falsehoods and an official investigation is underway. The selected records Kerry has released show some rather damning facts or discrepancies which make the whole Bush / AWOL stuff look all the more stupid and silly in comparison.

1st - the whole spin proffered that Kerry "volunteered" for service and combat is absurd; Kerry - by his own admissions in his own biography and elsewhere - joined the Naval Reserve (like the National Guard) after his attempted deferment for school in France was rejected and he faced draft. He never had "two tours of duty" (first year was spent on the USS Gridley which guarded our California coast & didn't qualify) - and the second "tour" only involved 3 months in combat - a far cry from the 12 months which - for all other vets - characterize a tour. Not a big deal except that it's the only claim to any office - from failed Congressional bid to POTUS - he's ever really had & remaining experience doesn't play outside Massachusetts (heck even there he faced tough races with Weld and others over the years).

Next are the lies that Kerry opted for combat in Swift Boats - to the contrary, at the time he volunteered for Swift Boats they were being used for non-combat related patrols and the reenacted videos he produced with his own super-8 camera (he then told his mini-"band of brothers" would be used) for his pre-planned presidential campaign with their silly depictions of Kerry posing as an Army infantrymen with hand grenades hanging from the vest he's wearing and carrying his gun pointed at his feet.

Finally is the real question about Kerry's term of service and the appearance that HE - KERRY - vs Bush - was the one who was, actually, indeed, AWOL. Note that Kerry signed up for 6 years of service in 1966 but wasn't discharged until 1978. Why? Because Kerry's records have been redone. On his campaign site he omits the periods from 1971-1972, presumably because that included the periods he was (now even admittedly - Michael Kranish and Patrick Healy article in Boston Globe "Kerry Spoke of Meeting Negotiators in Paris", March 25, 2004) actually negotiating with our enemy and representatives of Communist / North Vietnam while a Naval Officer and our troops were at war. It's also being questioned if Kerry was possibly court martialed during that period, something which was commonplace during that time and would explain why those periods are excluded from the records he chooses to release and would be explainable if he took advantage of the amnesty later offered to such folks by Jimmy Carter.

Many of Kerry's revised documents were purportedly signed by John Lehman, then Secretary of the Navy and recent member of 9/11 commission, who doesn't have any explanation for what or why Kerry had all these records changed and otherwise knows nothing further to explain it, leading to this official investigation which the Navy's Inspector General announced would be undertaken last week. Why Kerry refuses to release the records is certainly a quandary when all he has to do is sign Form 180. On August 22, 2004, Washington Post noted "Although Kerry campaign officials insist that they have published Kerry's full military records on their Web site (with the exception of medical records shown briefly to reporters earlier this year), they have not permitted independent access to his original Navy records. A Freedom of Information Act request by The Post for Kerry's records produced six pages of information. A spokesman for the Navy Personnel Command, Mike McClellan, said he was not authorized to release the full file, which consists of at least a hundred pages."

All this stuff would be moot if weren't for a bankruptcy of any kind of sellable message on the part of the Democrats and need to focus near exclusively on his Vietnam record. Even the anti-war supporters are becoming disengaged because of Kerry's latest stance & further flip-flops on Iraq (first falling into an obvious trap set by Bush challenging Kerry to state whether, knowing all he knows now, if he still supported his vote for the war resolution before moving back to an anti-war stance and declaring Bush "unfit" for "misleading America into war"). It's frustrating, I'm sure, to see Bush keep spinning circles around the Kerry campaign when Bush is supposed to be an idiot and Kerry portrayed as this intellectual who, everyday, it seems, makes another outrageous gaffe in one way or another. Yesterday, in his latest attempt to portray himself as a "common man", he stepped in it again, providing another classic photo-op (image above) awkwardly handling a shot gun and using ammunition enthusiasts noted Kerry probably didn't even realize he has repeatedly voted against in the Senate. No wonder Teresa took ill on the campaign trail yesterday after Newsweek poll came out showing Bush up 11 after Wednesday and up 16 on Friday following his Thursday evening convention speech.

Unfortunately for Kerry campaign and its supporters, Kerry is truly - as I've always observed - a one trick pony and the latest additions to his stump speech ala "Well, I'm going to leave it to the voters to decide whether to vote for Cheney, who got 5 deferments, or me serving two tours of duty" are just not going to cut it in an election which is supposed to be focused on the future and which the Bush campaign has effectively exploited, not only in their own presentation of what many consider a compelling agenda combined with the opening left by the Kerry campaign to define his Senate career on Republican terms instead of Democrats' by refusing to discuss anything other than Vietnam and hatred of Bush during their convention.

The implosion & collapse of the Kerry campaign is something to behold for politicos and spectators alike but it's not very pretty, rather sad, truly pathetic, really, and, with Kerry's never questioning himself or correcting problems and only / always seeks to blame & attack others, it appears destined to only get much, I suspect much worse for Kerry in the coming weeks remaining leaving most supporters left waiting & openly wanting to celebrate the 1000th death in Iraq & hoping for some other kind of economic or terrorist inflicted catastrophe they can latch onto. Meanwhile the justifiable outrage felt by many of his supporters over being had as badly as they were has got to yield justifiable resentment against the DNC party bosses who suckered them into this mess and they now see he's sold the anti-war protestor folks out as quickly as he sold out his comrades who languished in notorious communist Viet Cong prisons like "Skid Row" and "The Hanoi Hilton". - posted by Steven W. @ 3:12 PM Saturday, September 04, 2004

The Man in the Arena - from 26 to 41 to 43 One of Teddy Roosevelt's classic writings spoke of "The Man in the Arena"

George H. W. Bush, father of the current president, often spoke of such as one of his great inspirations and as a source of solace for those times when efforts failed but were undertaken with determination nonetheless. President George W. Bush demonstrated he has also been greatly influenced by both men in his choice of theme and setting for his 2004 Acceptance Speech - the convention video, narrated by former Senator Fred Thompson, with its ending featuring the post 9/11 strike thrown to open the World Series in NY that year, was likened to the man in the arena, as was the revised stage itself. It's interesting because it shows the degree to which President Bush, himself, was involved in the details of the planning and the influence of his father before.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly...who knows the great enthusiasms , the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows at the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat."

backhoe, I love that poster.It's now my (desktop) wallpaper (along with "Jesus Loves You, Allah Wants you Dead.") :) I will look at the video clips, when I can stand the sadness.

Thank you, and I agree with all you said. I lived through the Vietnam era, and it was an awful, divisive time for this whole nation. The only good that will come from all this, is this- Vietnam has been a healed-over, but still infected abcess for about 30 years. Bringing it to the fore again may, perhaps, finally allow it to be lanced and drained of its poison. I hope so, may the healing finally begin, and may there be peace, and honor at last for all the vets.

I wonder if the Woodstock Era babies will ever have an epiphany or will they go to their graves nuerotic and crazed (see Al Franken, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, those wretched NARAL nuts, the entire Ninth circuit, all of NPR, CBS, CNN, etc, et al) because their entire lives are built on a lie

Nope...Some of us are sane, hard-working, conservative Freepers. And I think we despise the Clintons, Gore, Reno, NARALists, wacko judges, moral relativists, multiculturalists etc. with a special intensity that only a conservative boomer can fully appreciate. They do NOT represent the best of our generation. Sadly, they are loud, ruthless and have a death grip on the media and universities. We look on them with horror and shame. Collectively, as a generation, we have a lot to answer for. I hope our nation can survive their insanity and hatred of America.

When Hillary runs in 4 years, does she get disqualified 'cause she's a girl? (I for one, hope so).

So do I, and I'm a female. Margaret Mead made such a poignant comments so many years ago. When asked if women should ever be drafted into combat she replied something to this effect: "No, never, they would be capable of such extraordinary cruelty."

While that might be a good thing in today's world, I don't think the kind of mind numbing Machiavellian torture and complete lack of humanity that HRC Clinton is capable of is what this country ever wants to stand for.

backhoe, thank you so much for that link. I have cc'd it to all of my friends. That was just heart-stopping. The sadness, the utter sadness. I cant believe this country could cough up a disgrace like John Kerry (Thank you, Massachusetts.)

What struck me were those POW's, how MUCH they must have endured, how many YEARS they had lost (did you see their bio's?) And no bitterness. These are the war hero's. They are what war heroes look like.

Kerry's 4 month "tour" is deserving of nothing, his self inflicted, superficial "shrapnel" wounds should get him NOTHING but shame. These men are heroes, THEY sacrificed, life, liberty, duty. Fidelity, bravery. To even CONSIDER uttering Kerry's name in the same breath is a national disgrace.

Thank you for providing the link AND the great poster.

Freepers: A question. What date and hour will Kerry throw in the towel and withdraw from the race?????

Chainsaw,
He wont. I mistakenly made the headline the story. The real story was not Kerry's collapsing campaign but the truth's contained in the article about his "right" to be commander in chief. He has no right to that office. None.

The fact about Kerry is that he has only two gears: Lazy dilettante or crazed pugilist. He's simply an adrenaline junkie.(Notice what he does with his free time, his hobbies? Flying, windsurfing, motorcycles, skiing--there's nothing wrong with these hobbies if you're Malcolm Forbes, Ted Turner, little Teddy Kennedy- the horror- but every time I see him he looks like he's thrill seeking. Never mind the self-indulgence of yachting, pheasant hunting and so on but, I digress.)

The point is, Kerry will rally with his typical flailing take no prisoners style. The problem is this isn’t the character of a commander in chief or even a warrior, it's the hallmark of a punk. He'll punk and bully his way to the election, call in all the big guns and when/if he wins....? What do we have? The lazy, waffling dilettante that he really is. Come on people, it's time to wake up. (Not you, freepers.)

His voting record enough speaks volumes about who he is, his completely undistinguished career in congress (marrying a billionaire was his greatest accomplishment.) All those committees he sits on, what has he done with his "power"? Create anything? No. Is there on single Amendment, Act, accomplishment with his name on it? No. All he does is destroy, whine, complain. He is left of left, that means he is an extremist who stands for anything that is AGAINST the status quo.

That is a man we want as President? As commander in chief? I mean really. People need to look at the man. The fact is, he's a boy, who never grew up and is playing soldier, President, war hero, future Commander in Chief.

The reality is he's an undistinguished Senator from the most unsuccessful, moribund state in the union. I know, I lived there. If it wasn’t for their universities, and the tax free status they are given, and the liberal climate they have to "Hate America, First", a very attractive magnet for academics, Massachusetts would be in the toilet. Oh yeah and, the fact that they keep electing Republican governors to pull their fat out of the fire right before they slide into bankruptcy and total moral decay.

Very well written. Some innacuracies - Kerry wasn't drunk as far as I can tell; the location of his ship during his first tour.... The possible court marshall is very interesting. If we could get at that.... explosive...

Paul, I know. I dont know about being drunk and in fact didnt even see that part. As far as the court marshalls I chose not to highlight that fact on purpose.

Since there is no real foundation for the charge (at least non that was documented with the article) it amounted to pure conjecture. Steve W of Perfect Truth is a fantastic writer, the article was Perfect enough without that.

I think unsubstantiated claims distract from the argument and water down the issues. It certainly was an interesting throw in but just the kind of thing a liberal junk yard dog could sink their teeth into to discredit everything else. OTOH, if they DON'T even mention it maybe it contains a kernal of truth......Now, THAT would be an interesting but as I said, I dont entertain unsubstantiated rumors. They do not serve our ultimate purpose. Exposing the truth about Kerry which is Perfect enough.

Thanks for the comments.
Anne

How about last Thursday night? I think he threw in the towel in the Ohio speech he gave following the President's acceptance @ the MSG. JfK knows it too but he is too arrogant to admit it. He has never hesitated to use & abuse his friends, his party, his country, fellow-vets, POW's or any of his constituents. I expect him to do the same now. The Rightward movement is close to a historic Victory. Now is the time to attack and attack again, don't let them get away with their patented crap. Attack all Libs, Demos, Communist and their failed ideologies, attack their corrupted Media enablers and support the President the man in the arena.

I remember reading a few weeks ago ... the Swift Boat guys had "an October Surprise". One, they said, could not be disputed by the media. One that the media would have to sit up and take notice of. A court-martial in the official record? Wow. I had not heard that that was a possibility. A court-martial would exactly fit the description of the type of surprise they have in store for Komrad Kerry. It would be hard to "spin away" an official court-martial. And when your whole campaign is based on your military record and not your Senate record, then the whole house of cards collapses.

JohnE, I never heard that about the October surprise. Something to live for! Something to get me through while we endure all the tarantula's that are going to desend on George Bush from now until election Day. In short... hope!

If it is a court martial, however, I'm not sure if that wont be just a badge of courage at that point and could backfire. Remember, Ford (it was Ford, right? Sounds like something Carter would do) gave those guys Amnesty. That was a act that was designed to heal. Will the electorate by that time be angry at the Vets for bringing up the old Amnesty wound? I dont know. I hope they have an October surprise but I'd prefer it be Kerry's actual medical records and proof how he lied to get his medals, and proof that he was actually negotiating with our enemy and the Communist North Vietnam while he was both a Naval Officer and our troops were at war. IF he were actually court marshalled for that and this was somehow sealed or hidden, THIS would be news. If it were wiped away with that blanket amnesty that, in my opinion, would make the issue the amnesty and perhaps not the actual ACTIONS of Kerry himself.

Consider that once your record is wiped clean it can no longer be used against you. The Act itself would not be forgotten but the conviction? It just makes the government look bad for allowing it to be swept away with the stroke of a pen and minimizes the real crime, itself. (If what he did was so bad, why would they have granted him amnesty?)
Anyway, that's my opinion and how I believe it would play out. But thanks much for the inside scoop. ;)
Anne

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