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Howard Dean 2004: The Medals Matter
ABCnews.com ^ | March 28, 2008 | Jake Tapper

Posted on 03/29/2008 2:42:44 AM PDT by billorites

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., launches a biography tour next week, which looks to tell the American people about his days as a POW in Vietnam, at least based on his new TV ad (watch HERE) introduced today in New Mexico.

In response, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean issued a statement, saying, “John McCain can try to reintroduce himself to the country, but he can’t change the fact that he cast aside his principles to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President Bush the last seven years. While we honor McCain’s military service, the fact is Americans want a real leader who offers real solutions, not a blatant opportunist who doesn’t understand the economy and is promising to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years.”

The Republican Party has seized upon the term "blatant opportunist" to suggest that Dean is implying McCain is an opportunist for including his POW information in his TV ad.

RNC Deputy Chairman Frank Donatelli said, “Howard Dean owes John McCain an immediate apology and both Sens. Clinton and Obama should unequivocally denounce this disgraceful attack."

That's all noise. What's more interesting are the Dean quotes from 2004 that may come back to haunt him this year.

"The real issue is this," Dean said in March 2004, when endorsing formal rival Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., "Who would you rather have in charge of the defense of the United States of America, a group of people who never served a day overseas in their life, or a guy who served his country honorably and has three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star on the battlefields of Vietnam?"

McCain, by the way, has been awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, a Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dean; dnc; jaketapper; mccain

1 posted on 03/29/2008 2:42:50 AM PDT by billorites
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To: billorites
the fact is Americans want a real leader who offers real solutions....

Dr Dean....your party can't run an election, never mind a country

2 posted on 03/29/2008 2:48:18 AM PDT by Doogle (USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
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To: billorites

3 posted on 03/29/2008 2:49:44 AM PDT by kingattax (99 % of liberals give the rest a bad name)
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To: billorites
"The real issue is this," Dean said in March 2004, when endorsing formal rival Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., "Who would you rather have in charge of the defense of the United States of America, a group of people who never served a day overseas in their life, or a guy who served his country honorably and has three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star on the battlefields of Vietnam?"

Like to see this in a McCain political ad.

4 posted on 03/29/2008 3:02:44 AM PDT by tiger-one (The night has a thousand eyes)
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To: tiger-one
"Like to see this in a McCain political ad."

I imagine we will.

Sen. McCain will wave the bloody shirt all fall. It's how it's done.

John Kerry did it, George H.W. Bush did it, John Kennedy, Ike, Teddy Roosevelt...

5 posted on 03/29/2008 3:06:28 AM PDT by billorites (Freepo ergo sum)
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To: billorites
Dean said in March 2004, when endorsing formal rival Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., "Who would you rather have in charge of the defense of the United States of America, a group of people who never served a day overseas in their life, or a guy who served his country honorably ... "

Of course, that honorable service in Vietnam was pretty much canceled out by Kerry's rather dishonorable and deplorable accusations against our troops when he testified before Congress in 1971. I thank God no one forgot about that.

6 posted on 03/29/2008 3:21:30 AM PDT by pnh102
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To: pnh102

I’m confident that over the course of the next 6-7 months Senator Kerry can be counted on to contribute more than his share of snide, stupid and reprehensible quotes.


7 posted on 03/29/2008 3:41:19 AM PDT by billorites (Freepo ergo sum)
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To: pnh102
"Of course, that honorable service in Vietnam was pretty much canceled out by Kerry's rather dishonorable and deplorable accusations against our troops when he testified before Congress in 1971."

From what is known about Kerry's service in Vietnam......I would not characterize it as "honorable".

8 posted on 03/29/2008 3:49:03 AM PDT by Godebert
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To: billorites
Nice thing about the digital age -- 25 years ago nobody would have spent hours combing through stacks of old news reports to find this stuff. Today it just takes somebody a few keystrokes.

We would have a President Kerry right now if Rathergate hadn't been exposed even as the program was still running.

9 posted on 03/29/2008 4:53:22 AM PDT by Sooth2222 ("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But I repeat myself." M.Twain)
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To: billorites
"...but he can’t change the fact that he cast aside his principles to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President Bush the last seven years."

Now where have I heard that before?

I know! Didn't Nancy Pelosi assure the American people that the Democrats were standing soulder-to-shoulder with President Bush???

Yeah. That's where I heard it.

As for casting aside principles-- The only principle the Democrats have is power--power for its own sake! Get it any way you can. The Democrats are not going to cast that principle aside. You can certainly give them that.

10 posted on 03/29/2008 7:03:16 AM PDT by Savage Beast ("History is not just cruel. It is witty." ~Charles Krauthammer)
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To: billorites
RNC Deputy Chairman Frank Donatelli said, “Howard Dean owes John McCain an immediate apology and both Sens. Clinton and Obama should unequivocally denounce this disgraceful attack."

I really wish our side would not do this stupid stuff, calling for apologies and denunciations and calling remarks, however dumb and inappropriate, an "attack."

If the Republican Party was smart, it would start changing the vocabulary so as to make it sound like there are some adults in charge...but it isn't so it won't.

11 posted on 03/29/2008 7:57:35 AM PDT by Bahbah
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To: TitansAFC; meandog; onyx; MARTIAL MONK; Kuksool; freespirited; Salvation; furquhart; mossyoaks; ...
McCain launches his Service to America tour next week.

The McCain List.
Service to America Tour

12 posted on 03/29/2008 4:38:19 PM PDT by Norman Bates (Freepmail me to be part of the McCain List!)
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To: Godebert
From what is known about Kerry's service in Vietnam......I would not characterize it as "honorable".

I'm not trying to defend Kerry, but what I don't understand is if there were so many questions about the way he earned his combat distinctions, then why was he awarded them? Wouldn't someone higher in rank than him have to sign off on that first?

I do not have a military background so I do not fully understand why he would have been awarded combat distinctions if he did not "truly" earn them.

13 posted on 03/29/2008 7:21:27 PM PDT by pnh102
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To: pnh102

http://horse.he.net/~swiftpow/index.php?topic=KerryinVietnam


14 posted on 03/29/2008 7:32:13 PM PDT by bad company (How much easier is self-sacrifice than self-realization)
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To: pnh102
Wouldn't someone higher in rank than him have to sign off on that first?

Let's see if we can clear up the confusion. First, Kerry wrote up the After Action Reports himself. Since he was the junior officer on the few missions where he was present, this is not uncommon, especially if those missions were routine with no major encounters with enemy combatants. Second, Kerry claimed he was wounded in action but was denied by the attending physician at the time. He waited till the physician was rotated out of the unit, then resubmitted the paperwork to a hospital corpsman who signed off on them. RHIP.

Kerry got three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star in 120 days in country, maybe more, by shuffling paperwork. The three PHs got him a ticket home early on the Freedom Bird.

Then there's the matter of his awards being signed off by SECNAV Lehman. The SECNAV during Kerry's tour was John Chaffee. Lehman was Jimmy Carter's SECNAV, long after the conclusion of the VN conflict.
15 posted on 03/29/2008 7:44:24 PM PDT by BIGLOOK
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To: bad company

I am aware of the Swift Boat Veterans’ criticism of Kerry’s record and I certainly do not discount them. However, someone made the decision to award Kerry the citations he received. My question is why would that someone discount the things that Swift Boat Veterans’ knew about?


16 posted on 03/29/2008 8:29:34 PM PDT by pnh102
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To: pnh102

IIRC the accounts in the after action report (written by Kerry) and the accounts of the others present when Kerry got his silver star differ greatly. As for the purple hearts only one of his injuries required medical treatment. For the last one there wasn’t even an after action report to go along with it. A purple heart is only awarded for injuries sustained in combat. His first attempt at aquiring his third purple heart was refused so he went through alternate channels to get it.

As for his silver star he initially claimed that it was issued with a V for valor device. The Silver star is never issued with a V for valor device. The valor is implied by it’s issuance itself.

That’s all I can remember off the top of my head. My issue was his I’m a Vietnam hero claim. My father served three tours in Vietnam. Some clown that served 4 months and got out after three minor scrapes really doesn’t impress me at all.


17 posted on 03/29/2008 9:04:59 PM PDT by bad company (How much easier is self-sacrifice than self-realization)
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