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"Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president." That was retired Gen. Wesley Clark's condescending assessment of John McCain's military service. Clark's words have great weight because he was speaking as a key political/military advisor to Barack Obama. If Gen. Clark had been talking about me, his remarks might be true. After all, I rode in a fighter plane and got shot down over North Vietnam. In no way do Clark's words apply to McCain. I know, because I was a firsthand witness to his singular leadership and courage....

The Swift Boat Veterans gather to assess their impact on the campaign. Monday, November 15, 2004 12:01 a.m. BOCA RATON, Fla.--"The last mission of Vietnam War veterans ended on Nov. 3, at 2:08 p.m. Eastern Time, when John Kerry conceded the presidential race to George W. Bush," announced James Warner, a lawyer who was a Marine pilot in Vietnam and spent five years and five months in Hanoi as a prisoner of war. On Saturday night, Mr. Warner gave a "debriefing" on the role that two controversial groups of veterans played in raising doubts about John Kerry's fitness to serve as...

Kerry and James Warner I was reading through American Legion Magazine, and came across an interview with Kerry by the staff of ALM. While perusing it, I came across this quote from Kerry in answer to a question about a flag burning amendment: "James Warner, who was a POW in Hanoi, said in a very eloquent article the Vietnamese showed him the photo of somebody burning the flag and said, "See? You're wrong." And he said, "No, that makes me right, because that shows that in our country, you're free, and that's the meaning of freedom." And the captor got...

"Of course, the president keeps telling people he would never question my service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded attack group does just that. Well, if he wants to have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: 'Bring it on.'" -- Sen. John Kerry Dear John, As usual, you have it wrong. You don't have a beef with President George Bush about your war record. He's been exceedingly generous about your military service. Your complaint is with the 2.5 million of us who served honorably in a war that ended 29 years...

A car crash in a town near New Orleans revealed that a building thought to be a home improvement business was actually a white supremacist church, police said on Friday. The vehicle smashed into the brick storefront in Chalmette, Louisiana, after colliding with two other cars and came to rest amid stacks of racist books and pamphlets, including Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf," they said. A sign proclaimed the building the "Southern Home Improvement Center," said Lt. Mike Sanders of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Department, but investigators found out it was the New Christian Crusade Church and headquarters of the...