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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

I think your points are right, but maybe a little over-analytical. I don't think the average person or vet is going to think, "Oh, he was court-martialed, but it's okay, he had AMNESTY." Remember, he's been hammering Bush and Cheney on their military record. The average person will think, "Bush didn't have a court martial".

And remember who the Swift Vets are. They are his commanders and higher-ups. Who would know better than they, in spite of the official record, whether Kerry had a court-martial for fraternizing with the enemy while still in uniform?

I'm only speculating. It's just that a CM seems to fit the description of the "surprise" the SBVT talked about in mid August.