Actually I think it's prett compelling with absolutely zero evidence to say otherwise. His commanding officer says Bush didn't show up, there are no records of him showing up, and nobody in the unit remembers serving with him. It doesn't get much stronger than that. The evidence to refute any of this is non-existent.
the reason i brought this up, and the reason the original article was written i think, was to show how Kerry called out his fellow democrats when they tried to make service in Vietnam an issue in 1992. now that Terry McCauliffe has tried to do the same thing twelve years later, will kerry have the courage of his convictions to call him on it?
12 years later, will the RNC have the courage of their convictions to call one of their own out? They didn't do it 8 years later, so I doubt they'll do it this year. Newsflash, politics and hypocrisy go hand in hand. Not one party has a monopoly on it.
Maybe so, but I think Kerry would be wise to tap-dance around the issue. The media will continue to bring it up. He really doesn't have to. The only exception I can think of, off hand, would be if he was responding to an attack by Bush in a debate that had brought this up. That, and possibly a response to RNC attacks on his service record during the campaign if he gets the nomination. There isn't a good percentage for him to do it. It would take more info than has come up so far, information that was irrefutable, that Bush was AWOL for that year. Bush and his friends have done a pretty good job, so far, in burying those records. There haven't been people turning up who could give unqualified credence to exactly what he was doing for the missing year of service to the Guard. Not that I have seen, anyway.
I think Kerry would be wise to tap-dance around the issue. The RNC may play the "you protested the Vietnam War, Mr Kerry" card, maybe to reduce the impact of Kerry's distguished service in that war. If RNC opens this door, Kerry would be wise to find a very large bat and swing for the fences.
I agree. It's much wiser to let others do the attacking so that Kerry doesn't have to. I wasn't so much concerned with who brought the issue up, just that issue could hurt the president. I'm not sure to what extent though.
No question. I just think he should wait for provacation if he does it. Of course, the RNC may try to goad him into bringing it up early, in hopes of knocking it down with a blizzard of ads, press releases, "testimonials" and the like. They would love for that to be "off the table" closer to the election. I think Bush has a ton of baggage. Unfortunately, much of it has been lost by the airlines. Maybe the public will find it. Considering his poll numbers, maybe they already have.
That's correct. That's the way it should be. Let people other than Kerry keep it alive in the public's mind, and only if the RNC or Bush goes after Kerry should he himself use the issue. Once he does bring it in to play, he should milk it for all that it's worth. I don't know what that is to the general public, but when I heard about this in the 2000 campaign I couldn't believe it wasn't a huge issue then. I think Gore didn't want to bring it up because of Clinton not serving. Anyway it's pointless. This could be a small part of a larger issue that goes toward's Bush's dishonesty and underhanded way of doing things, or if need be it could be made into a large issue all it's own.
How dare anybody try to bring up George Bush's aviator past or evoke military imagery about their own past!
I think those three Purple Hearts he earned in Vietnam gave him more than enough credibility to voice his displeasure with the war. Who better to voice concerns than the soldiers fighting (and dying) there? Of course, for some closed-minded Americans, *any* dissent is unacceptable.
Considering that John Kerry volunteered for the service, won three Purple Hearts, the Silver Star and the National Defense Service Medal, I think he can talk about his service to his country all he wants. After all, while he was out in the Mekong Delta, his presidential opponent was *literally* AWOL from his Texas National Guard Service.
For all you Kerry activists out there, try this one on for size: Bleeding Purple Heart Liberal. God DAMN, I'm witty.
Decorated World War II veteran Bob Dole tells John Kerry to shut his trap. Kerry's Own Words By BOB DOLE WSJ On Fox News recently, my friend John Kerry stated: "I've never made any judgments about any choice somebody made about avoiding the draft, about going to Canada, going to jail, being a conscientious objector, going into the National Guard." Sen. Kerry did make a judgment, in 1992, when Bill Clinton -- who did not serve -- was running against Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Vietnam veteran. After Bob Kerrey criticized Gov. Clinton, John Kerry said, "We do not need to divide America over who served and how." He should stick to his previous position by acknowledging the honorable service of President Bush and the hundreds of thousands of other National Guard members defending America every day. The president piloted an F-102 in the National Guard and received an honorable discharge when his requirements were met. Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe also said last Sunday that service in the National Guard wasn't service "in the military." These attacks are offensive. Service in the National Guard is one of the finest things any citizen can do, and there are tens of thousands of guardsmen and women serving our country today all over the world. Thousands are serving in Iraq, and some of those have made the supreme sacrifice in the service of their country. It should be incumbent upon presidential candidates to disavow accusations that have no proof or substance behind them. Gen. Wesley Clark learned the price of irresponsibility the hard way as thousands of voters deserted him in the weeks since he intimated President Bush might have been a deserter. Enough. Sen. Kerry is a war hero, but if campaigns were about war records, I would have won easily in 1996. Campaigns are about issues, and the candidates of both parties owe the American people a compelling vision for the future of America. Mr. Dole, former Senate majority leader and a decorated World War II veteran, was the 1996 Republican candidate for president.
The issue isn't that Bush served in the National Guard. It's that he DIDN'T serve in the National Guard.
