August 7, 2004
THERE'S NEVER A BAD TIME TO REFIGHT THE WAR AGAINST THE VIETNAM WAR:
New Claims Surround Anti-Kerry Ad (JIM RUTENBERG, August 7, 2004, NY Times)
A commercial by a group of veterans accusing Senator John Kerry of exaggerating his decorated Vietnam War record was strongly challenged Friday by Democrats as new questions arose about the claims of one of the men calling Mr. Kerry a liar in the advertisement.The Boston Globe quoted the man, Lt. Cmdr. George Elliott, retired, who as Mr. Kerry's commander in Vietnam had recommended him for a Silver Star, as recanting a recent sworn statement that he did not believe Mr. Kerry deserved the decoration because of accusations that he had earned it by shooting a fleeing, wounded Vietcong in the back.
The advertisement's sponsors, an anti-Kerry group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, later said the newspaper misquoted Commander Elliott, and they released another affidavit from him, in which he stood by his initial accusation. [...]
The charges and countercharges only served to give more publicity to the commercial, which is running in Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Even as they kept their distance from the furor, Republicans gloated, saying that by responding so forcefully to the advertisement, the Kerry campaign and Democratic Party were only drawing more attention to questions about one of Mr. Kerry's greatest strengths as a candidate.
"They're crazy for making a big deal of it; everybody was ignoring it,'' said a Republican close to President Bush's campaign.
Whatever may be the truth about what happened on those boats over thirty years ago, the salient truth is that John Kerry is not identified with the fighting of that war but with the opposition to it and to the government of his own country. That's why Vietnam was always a bad issue for the Senator and why the GOP would love to have it be the only issue discussed from now until election day. Just wait until the debate question where someone asks Senator Kerry about throwing away medals and watch the candidacy-destroying knots he has to twist himself into when he tries explaining an action that is simply unfathomable to the great majority of his fellow citizens. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 7, 2004 12:03 AM
Suggested debate questions:
In 1974-1975 the United States refused to intervene to stop the North Vietnamese invasion of the south, despite it being a violation of the peace treaty. As you've stressed the importance of alliances for your foreign policy, do you condemn the congress's actions to prevent intervention?
Is there an implicit alliance between the United States and all people throughout the world who desire freedom & democracy? If so, what would you do to help them?
I'm kinda partial to the claim that Kerry lied on the Senate floor in 1986 when he said he spent Christmas, 1968 in Cambodia on illegal orders from President Nixon.
Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at August 7, 2004 3:18 AMWar heroes are a dime a dozen, seen one you've seen them all. The really "special" thing about Kerry was that he made a name for himself by being anti-ameri..excuse me I mean to say anti-war, and certainly that has to be considered as pertinent to his qualifications for the Presidency.
Seriously, I feel if his behavior in the early 70's isn't well known by the public and he becomes President, then the public has been ill-served by the news media. Such exposure will gain him some supporters and cause him to lose some. The Media (bless their courageous heart) was more than willing to chronicle Bush's early years of drunken behavior and I just know they are up to the task of laying out "relevant" facts about Kerry.
Posted by: h-man at August 7, 2004 5:07 AMFred Jacobsen:
Yeah, I heard about that too. Just think of all the future screwups we're sure to see between now and November. Makes me giddy.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at August 7, 2004 5:51 AM
You know, I'm starting to realize how key the Vietnam 4 months are to John Kerry. They're the only months in his life when he can be said to have made decisions and led others. His career since then he's been a critic, an outsider, not a doer; he has no accomplishments, not a single thing he's brought about through his own initiative, and hardly a firm stand or decision to point to. If he can show that in four months of command on a small boat he was capable of making decisions and leading others, it immunizes him against the charge that he can't decide and can't lead.
John Kerry has stated on occasion that this is the most important election of our lifetime. It boggles the mind then that the Democrats, who if they believe this to be the fact, would put forward this particular self-righteous, aggrandizing, narcissist as their candidate of choice.
Posted by: MB at August 7, 2004 9:15 AMOn NPR last night, a Kerry spokesman and the All Things Considered Host agreed that any focus on Vietnam works for Kerry the way any focus on the war on terror works for the President.
Posted by: David Cohen at August 7, 2004 9:52 AMOf course they both still think we helped South Vietnam by leaving it to the North.
Posted by: oj at August 7, 2004 10:06 AMToo bad for Kerry we're fighting the War on Terror and not Vietnak.
Posted by: Robert Duquette at August 7, 2004 11:06 AM