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May 03, 2004 Kerry's Navy This probably won't help him.... Hundreds of former commanders and military colleagues of presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry are set to declare in a signed letter that he is "unfit to be commander-in-chief." They will do so at a press conference in Washington on Tuesday.I'm not so sure their opinion should really carry a great deal of weight. In its favor, the fact that they've gotten every commanding officer Kerry had in Vietnam to sign onto this lends credence to the position. One could easily find a group of veterans to call virtually any candidate "unfit for office", but finding veterans so closely tied to John Kerry to say this? Well, that carries a bit more weight. On the other hand.... While there is certainly room for argument over whether Kerry slandered all US soldiers, or just repeated tales of the sort of incidents that did occur in Vietnam - and there's also room for discussion on the merits of one or two of John Kerry's Purple Hearts, I don't think one can judge whether a candidate for President in 2004 is "unfit for office" based on mistakes he may - or may not - have made when in 1970-71. I doubt President Bush would disagree. UPDATE: James Joyner seems to agee with this take. |
That many or most of Kerry's former comrades would denounce him has little objective meaning.
However, since Kerry himself elevates his Vietnam experience from "interesting" to "character defining" this sort of denunciation is -- at very least -- humorous.
One might in fairness poll the pilots of the TANG wing pilot/LT Bush flew with, for a similar judgement.
It'd be similarly humorous to ask the former employees of Kerry's cookie company (A "Mrs Field's"-like operation of some 35 workers) whether they'd support him for national CEO -- and query Shrub's partners in the Texas Rangers baseball franchise.
Posted by: Pouncer at May 3, 2004 10:37 AM
The problem for Mr. Kerry is that he is the one who has made the argument that his Vietnam era service is one of the main things that makes him fit to be President. If he was running instead on his government service and his ideas for how to improve the country, this letter probably wouldn't mean anything. But since we hear every time he speaks of his actions in Vietnam, I think it will make a difference.
Posted by: Holly S at May 3, 2004 10:40 AM
I agree, BUT Kerry is opening himself to this. He's the one who exploits....err, showcases his "band of brothers" and mentions Vietnam at every turn.
If his Vietnam service is so important, than what his fellow soldiers have to say about his conduct is also important.
Kerry has nobody to blame but Kerry.
But don't worry, he'll dismiss these guys as being "Republican attack dogs" or "part of the vast Republican attack machine"
Posted by: shark at May 3, 2004 10:55 AM
Obviously Kerry considers his Vietnam experience to have been formative to his personality and judgement. That means that what happened after his Vietnam service must be indicative of who he is today.
Also, I believe it is very difficult to appreciate just how damaging Kerry's protest actions and words were to the country and to Vietnam vets. Kerry was not just another protester; he was leading the charge. His background and talents gave him a forum very few protesters enjoyed, and he used this to blast his fellow Vietnam soldiers.
It literally is largely due to Kerry that Vietnam vets suffered a negative image once they returned home.
Posted by: Another Thought at May 3, 2004 02:54 PM
Some incidents from the past have no expiration date.
If, for instance, Kerry had been a member of a Nazi group, or had committed a felony crime, then that would probably be viewed as a disqualifying factor for any presidential run.
What Kerry did as a Vietnam protester was inexcusable. Kerry literally formed in people's minds the negative image of the Vietnam veteran. Vietnam veterans suffered much thanks to Kerry.
Let's remember this shocking fact: Kerry's words were so bad...so extreme...that our enemy played Kerry's speeches to American POWs as an instrument of torture. That is no small indictment of Kerry.
Posted by: Another Thought at May 3, 2004 02:58 PM
Kerry's words and actions as Vietnam protester were not just your usual youthful indiscretions; they were not just going to a Led Zeppelin concert and getting stoned.
Kerry, among other things, said that our democracy was a farce, that communism and democracy were moral equivalents, and that we could never triumph over communism.
Even though that was long ago, I don't want to trust such a person with the office of president.
Posted by: Another Thought at May 3, 2004 03:03 PM
I would agree with forgiving him for his statements 33 years ago, if he would just acknowledge that he was wrong. However, he consistently refuses to do so.
Indeed, I commented on my blog that we finally seem to have found an issue on which Kerry declines the opportunity to flip-flop.
Russert asked him about the war crimes testimony and stated that a lot of it had been disproven. It was a perfect opportunity to say, "Hey, look, we didn't check the veterans giving evidence at Winter Soldier out carefully enough, it turned out that some of them were indeed lying". Instead he said that the war crimes had been documented. He said his testimony was honest, but not phrased artfully enough.
Posted by: Pat Curley at May 3, 2004 03:12 PM
The only relevant issue involving Kerry's Purple Hearts are how they impacted on his service in Vietnam. By all accounts the 3 injuries were of little consequence physicly. But by receiveing the required 3 it was his option to request transfer out of country. An option he exercised after only 4 months of out of the normal Vietnam tour of 12 months. Taken in isolation its understandable. Coupled with his extreme anti-war actions, the Winter Soldier episode and the throwing of Medals/ribbons/truth event raises questions that need to be answered. As the Cap'n (Cap'n ed of Captains Quarters) pointed out, to this day Kerry has failed to disavow any statements made concerning war crimes to the Senate Committee. And most other answers concerning that time in his life have been flipped, flopped, and fried into uninteligable mush.
As a Veteran I believe he owes everyone he served with an apology. It was his choice to leave Vietnam (under very questionable circumstances). When he took that route his actions and statements dishonored those he left behind. And that is the entire point, if 8 months ago, or 20 years ago he would simply say, "I was wrong, I'm sorry," there would be no issue. "Go home there's nothing to see here."
As it stands he's a lying, two-faced opportunist.
Posted by: Marc at May 3, 2004 04:33 PM
Russert said that some of the claims had been disproven. Kerry said that a lot had been documented as factual. Russert could have then gone through a checklist of what was proven or not, but he moved on. Maybe somebody should do that now.
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