August 22, 2004
A VISIT FROM THE HATCHET MAN:
Dole Questions Kerry's Vietnam Wounds (PETE YOST, 8/22/04, Associated Press)
Former Republican Sen. Bob Dole suggested Sunday that John Kerry apologize for past testimony before Congress about alleged atrocities during the Vietnam War and joined critics of the Democratic presidential candidate who say he received an early exit from combat for "superficial wounds." Dole also called on Kerry to release all the records of his service in Vietnam.
It's so unusual for Mr. Dole to violate Senate collegiality that you just know he must hate John Kerry. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 22, 2004 5:33 PM
Does anyone who knows anything about medicine believe that Kerry could possibly still have shrapnel in his thigh? It seems absurd to this layman that based on his injuries that could be true. Probably one of a dozen reasons why Kerry will no more release his records than he will resign his seat...
Posted by: brian at August 22, 2004 6:46 PMUntil Kerry releases the records this will haunt him. He must know this so the fact that he won't release them means he thinks the records will disprove what he is saying (or it's a rope-a-dope but I don't think that's likely),
Posted by: AWW at August 22, 2004 7:33 PMI eagerly await the first quote from a Democratis spinner or a media pundit that Dole should't comment on ths issue becuase he never spent time in the line of fire in Vietnam like John Kerry did (bonus points if Dole's 1976 debate comment against Mondale about "Democratic wars" and the sentator's mean-spiritedness gets tossed in the mix).
Posted by: John at August 22, 2004 8:01 PM
If we think we're being snippy, recall Sidney Blumenthal's attempt to disprove George Bush
Sr's war time exploits,in the New Republic or
some character named Ellis, who tried to do
the same to Dole, in the Nation in 1996.
brian - Remember those Kerry vacations" in the winter/spring? That's when the shrapnel entered his leg. You can be sure it's from North Vietnamese weapons. Kerry must be dying to set up his "October surprise" when he gets it removed. Too bad Bush isn't going to challenge his shrapnel.
Posted by: pj at August 23, 2004 9:14 AMPS - I'd like to see a Lexis/Nexis search on Kerry mentioning shrapnel in his body before 2004. This year, it's in all of Edwards's speeches. Before, I can't ever recall hearing of it.
Posted by: pj at August 23, 2004 9:16 AMpj: I suspect it's much like the Cambodia story--he made it up at some point because it sounded cute, and then figured he may as well run with it.
Of course, it could be that as he implodes it will give him a way to step aside--old war wound flares up and will prevent him from serving, etc.
Posted by: brian at August 23, 2004 12:57 PMDole's Purple Heart comes from having a hole blown in his chest and his arm permanently crippled by a machinegun burst. When they got him to a field hospital, he was not expected to live.
That got him one Purple Heart to JFK2's three.
Posted by: Ken at August 23, 2004 5:04 PM