QandO: Hoffman and the Fool Disclosure Principle

August 17, 2004

Hoffman and the Fool Disclosure Principle
Posted by Jon Henke

An interesting story in Sunday's Richmond Times-Dispatch on one of the most prominent Swift Boat Veterans, Retired Rear Adm. Roy Francis Hoffmann. Interesting, in part, because it turns out I live just a few miles from the fellow.

Retired Rear Adm. Roy Francis Hoffmann picked up the phone in his Chesterfield County home this year and launched a movement to brand John F. Kerry a liar. [...] A soft-spoken man who speaks carefully, Hoffmann, 78, sat at a table in his Bexley home last week and expressed no regrets about his role in the anti-Kerry campaign.
He is chairman of the organization.

"I knew him well enough to know that he was shrewd, a very intelligent man, and I was concerned," Hoffman said. "I had been retired from the Navy since 1978, and I fully retired from everything in 1996, so I wasn't particularly anxious to get back into the fray."

"Then when he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination, to be commander in chief of the armed forces, it got our attention. It got my attention in particular. I couldn't believe it. I took it pretty seriously right from the beginning."

Hoffmann added:

"I just didn't think the man has the character to be commander in chief of the armed forces. We're going after Kerry on his military background, we are not getting into the politics of things."

Hoffmann has three beefs with Kerry. He thinks he used the war to advance his political career, that he used minor wounds as an excuse to apply for Purple Hearts and that he returned to the United States and discredited the military by talking about "atrocities" in Vietnam. A serviceman could request transfer from a war zone after three Purple Hearts. Kerry did, and he went back to the United States after four months and 12 days.

"He didn't endear himself to the people who were putting in a full tour of duty," Hoffmann said.
[...]
When he saw that Kerry was going to win the Democratic nomination, Hoffmann said, "I started organizing pretty much on my own. I started calling people I hadn't heard from or seen since the Vietnam War. About 95 percent I was talking to were in agreement with me."
[...]
Hoffmann said the swift boat sailors got to know each other well because they slept at night aboard a larger "mother" ship.

"I knew him and he was trouble," Hoffmann said. "He needed supervision."

Of course, as the article points out, other veterans disagree with the SBVT's assessment of Kerry. In the end, I suspect, this may be an unresolvable matter. People are pretty much going to end up believing what they are predisposed to believe, and we'll never really see closure.

I am, however, very curious about what happened to all those Democrats who were absolutely wooly on the concept of releasing records when it was a Republican whose record was being questioned.

Well. Where did you go?

TrackBack

Comments

Where did they go? Hey, if Soros isn't shelling out for it, do you think hacks like Oliver and Atrios would do it? Not an independent brain in those heads...the Democrat equivalent of fembots

Posted by: shark at August 17, 2004 09:02 AM

It's a credibility contest again.

Who are we supposed to believe, the admiral who commanded Kerry? Or a former infantry man who, according to google, was a former national officer of a major veterans' organization ( I failed to determine if that was the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars ((VFW)), the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, or some other.)

Do we believe the apolitical guy who retired after a successful Navy career? Or the political activist who hired famous Ghost Writer Craig Kubey, (ghost with Pat Summerall on sports, and a book about TV cartoons) to produce the book "Viet Vet Survival Guide: How to Cut Through the Bureacracy and Get What You Need and Are Entitled to."

Which one represents Vietnam veterans who came back to become productive job holding home owning tax paying voters and which one represents/advocates for a dependent victimized class of drug addicts, mental depressives, and borderline criminals?

Do we believe Hoffman or O'Dell?

Posted by: Pouncer at August 17, 2004 09:57 AM

I checked all your links as well as the current pages. Funny; they don't mention anything on the unarchived pages about the people's supreme right to know if a presidential candiate has lied about his miltary service. They like talking about how Alan Keyes is a tom and a looney, but nothing about presidential credibility in general, just Bush credibility. Anyway, in various credibility posts and in one on Brad DeLong's page about the death of the investigative press (something about why don't we deserve a better press corps (irony alert)), I let them know how much I appreciated their principled stands on presidential credibility and military service, and linked (thanks to Q&O) their respective relevant posts. I added I knew they would remain intellectually honest and consistent.

So, I guess we can expect Atrios, Drum, Willis, and DeLong to weigh in on Cambodia/CIA any second, eh? Alas, Talking Points' Josh Marshall seems to be uncomfortable with an uncontrolled forum for the free and visible exchange of views, and permits no comments on his site. Gee, that's funny; wonder why?

Posted by: Jumbo at August 17, 2004 09:08 PM

Blog exclusive!!!!

If he's just a bit up the road, how about an interview? I'll vouch for your credentials regarding analysis and veracity. It looks like he's in the mood, and you could take Alex along and get a pic that (with luck) Alex might treasure a couple of decades down the road. Plus, you'd have the appreciation of all the blogreaders that would love to ask questions but don't live nearby. Win-win-win.

Posted by: cthulhu at August 18, 2004 01:23 AM

I agree with what you say - makes sense to me.
Looking for some propecia?

Posted by: propecia at November 14, 2004 05:46 AM