The impact of actually hearing Kerry slander the military--
his accent is unbelieveable, and his tone of arrogance and
condescension repulsive-- is powerful, and I do not
believe he can serve successfully as Commander-in-Chief
given the reactions I heard from veterans and currently
serving military.
February 17. 2004
Posted at 5:35 PM, Pacific
I played John Kerry's 1971 testimony on the radio program, and the response was intense. The first two hours brought scores of calls and e-mails which denounced Kerry for his slander of the military that served in Vietnam and for his understanding of the war. Kerry has thus far successfully dodged a discussion of the specifics of his testimony, and it was very hard to find the audio --it took my producer Duane considerable digging to find the tape.
The impact of actually hearing Kerry slander the military--his accent is unbelieveable, and his tone of arrogance and condescension repulsive-- is powerful, and I do not believe he can serve successfully as Commander-in-Chief given the reactions I heard from veterans and currently serving military. We are in the middle of a war, and the Democrats are in the process of nominating a man hated by a large portion of the uniformed service for his actions of thirty years ago.
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I am more concerned about his judgment today than his judgment of 33 years ago. Kerry made his statement at the age of 27, after a first run for Congress, and his career since has been an unbroken campaign to neuter the American military though he would deny this from dawn till dark. He does not understand that America has real enemies today that won't play by his rules any more than he understood communism in 1971. He just doesn't get it. Period. His honorable service and his heroism in no way covers the terrible judgment he has displayed since he returned from the battlefield.
As for the beliefs about Kerry held by many members of the military, past and present, read from the article cited below in today's Los Angeles Times:
"Paul Galanti learned of Kerry's [1971] speech while held
captive inside North Vietnam's infamous 'Hanoi Hilton'
prison. The Navy pilot had been shot down in June 1966 and
spent nearly seven years as a prisoner of war."
"During torture sessions, he said, his captors cited the
antiwar speeches as 'an example of why we should cross
over to [their] side.'"
"'The Viet Cong didn't think they had to win the war on
the battlefield,' Galanti said, 'because thanks to these
protesters they were going to win it on the streets of San
Francisco and Washington.'"
"He says Kerry broke a covenant among servicemen never to
make public criticisms that might jeopardize those still
in battle or in the hands of the enemy."
"Because he did, Galanti said, 'John Kerry was a traitor
to the men he served with.'"
"Now retired and living in Richmond, Va., Galanti, 64, refuses to cool his ire toward Kerry."
"'I don't plan to set it aside. I don't know anyone who does,' He said. 'The Vietnam memorial has thousands of additional names due to John Kerry and others like him.'"
Some folks are arguing that Vietnam has no place in the election of 2004. I argue it does, but only as a bumper off of which to assess issues of qualification and judgment.
But there are thousands and tens of thousands, like Paul Galanti, who want to judge Kerry simply on his actions from 1971. And these folks have that right. Especially people like Paul Galanti. I'd love to hear a pundit tell Col. Galanti that it is time to "move on."
A copy of Kerry's entire testimony from April 22, 1971 can be found here.
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