(See? They don't call you 'Lucky Don' for nothing :).
I will watch the video (again) upon returning home on Sunday (promise). For now, allow me to just tell you, and any others who happen to stumble across this post, that the prospect of John Kerry becoming President (which, thank God, appears to be fading somewhat) chills me to the bone tonight especially.
I ordered 'Unfit for Command' from Amazon.com a couple of days ago. It arrived yesterday, and I took it along with me on the drive up here this afternoon. My friend (who is also racing tomorrow) offered to drive, so I spent two hours of the drive reading O'Neill/Corsi's book.
It's not necessarily that there is anything earthshakingly new contained within the covers of the book – although there are a few small, personal Kerry recollections by Vietnam vets that simply add depth to my perception of his wickedness. It's just that, when one reads all of the refutations of his claims of heroism, countered by truthful descriptions of his cowardly, traitorous, self-serving actions … in concentrated form … it's hard to keep one's head from exploding.
Here's an example of one of the countless 'personal Kerry recollections' that struck me particularly strongly (written by John O'Neill himself, describing a couple of minutes' worth of the Swift Boat Veterans Reunion in the summer of 2003):
Kerry made a cameo appearance accompanied by a film crew and a corps of directors and assistants at an earlier outside event. Pushing aside various Swiftees, Kerry positioned himself dockside so that he could be filmed on the restored PCF that was the centerpiece of the reunion. As was his habit, Kerry ignored many of his fellow Swiftees. He placed himself front and center for the camera shot, pushing aside Swiftees like Jack Chenoweth, an officer and one of the true heroes of the Rassmann incident … which Kerry later lied about in a $50 million ad campaign.
One of Kerry's political aides singled out some Swiftees to participate in his video. Most declined. After filming the cameo and allowing one or two snapshots to be taken dockside, Kerry and his entourage disappeared, not bothering to attend a memorial service for the Swiftees who had died in Vietnam. To many, Kerry's conduct at the 2003 reunion seemed exactly in character. Kerry's service in Vietnam had been devoted largely to his own self-interest at the cost of comradeship, honor, and tradition. So his staging a self-promotion video while ignoring a memorial service for dead comrades was not surprising.
I used to despise Bill Clinton, considering him to be the most traitorous, self-absorbed, power-hungry, immoral, deceitful (I could go on, but it's late) man who ever occupied the White House. Bill Clinton doesn’t hold a candle to John Kerry in possession of those malevolent credentials.
Much more I could say about what I gleaned from this book (and intend to here on the forum when I return home), but no time now.
One last disjointed parting thought …
To those who believe that the Sixty Minutes story is going to be the ruination of Dan Rather et al, and that it will knock the mainstream media down a peg (or fifty), I say, don't count on it.
I do believe the obvious connections between the Kerry forces/the DNC (no matter how much they protest) and the fabricated 'proof' of Bush's supposed disingenuousness and unwillingness to serve in the military will put a definite damper on Kerry's campaign. As ignorant and apathetic as the populace is, they’re going to take at least momentary note of this. But CBS and the mainstream propaganda machine will survive intact at the end of the tunnel, as may the actual perpetrators of this fraud. (All we need do is ask ourselves whatever happened to the Sandy-Berger-pilfering-terrorism-documents-from-the-National-Archives fiasco-in-the-making? Answer: the media decided to downplay his criminal activity, and the no-doubt continuing spider-like connection with the Clinton coterie … and the public has already pretty much forgotten that a major crime was even committed.)
Count on the same thing happening here. The media (CBS included) will see to it that this 'relative misdemeanor' finds itself buried under all manner of fabricated or exaggerated 'news' stories – most of them unflattering to the current administration, and magnifying 'poverty' in America and any perceived 'setbacks' in Iraq -- that will of necessity take precedence, at least for the next seven and a half weeks. Yes, they will still have the audacity to play their sleight-of-hand propaganda tricks. And no, most of the voting public won’t really care. (After all, there are a couple of new 'reality TV' shows debuting this month … )
There's little I would like more than to see Dan Rather – and some of the rest of his ilk – get their just desserts. But I believe that those who are already writing his/their journalistic obituary are being very premature.
I'd really love to be wrong on this one. I'd be smiling all the way to the hat-eating ceremony.
~ joanie
I agree. And I agree with your opinion about the media coming back too. It's scary.
If luck matters in this, I hope you have a lot on your bike today. :-)
Just make sure you're in a (reasonably) good frame of mind when you do. It will shake you up.
Joanie, I agree that Rather and 60 Minutes and the media in general aren't going to pay a hefty price for what they've done here. They never do.
Remember a few years ago when Dateline rigged a (Ford?) truck to explode when hit from behind so that they could prove the truck was dangerous? That isn't as sick as the Bush document but it's along the same lines. NBC didn't pay for that deception and CBS won't pay for this one.
Bike race results?