John Kerry: Not so Swift?
May 27, 2004
Conservatives are vulnerable in at least one area of our political philosophy. We actually believe truth exists. Tucked safely away underneath our other assumptions is the belief that it is the job of reporters and editors within the media to sort out competing claims and report their findings honestly. This puts us at a tremendous advantage over the left, for which truth can never be found no matter how hard one searches – because truth does not exist.
This disparity in the hardwired makeup of conservatives and leftists is why the Swift Boat saga, and the claims of "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" are important to America. By any standard, it is remarkable to learn that 17 of the 23 officers who served on Swift boats and in the command structure with fellow officer John Kerry believe he is unfit to be commander in chief. I'd like to tell you their stories. Yet if I do so, my observations will become nothing more than another bit of political froth washed up from the vast ocean of news and commentary, forgotten as soon as it is read. But you cannot watch these men tell their own stories at their May 4 press conference and be unaffected.
The group also released a letter to Mr. Kerry demanding he release of all his military records:
Specifically, we the undersigned formally request that you authorize the Department of the Navy to independently release your military records (through your execution of Standard Form 180), complete and unaltered, including your military medical records. Further, we call upon you to correct the misconceptions your campaign seeks to create as to your conduct while in Vietnam. Permit the American public the opportunity to assess your military performance upon the record, and not upon campaign rhetoric.
– Rear Adm. Roy Hoffmann, U.S. Navy
I reviewed many of the military records posted on Mr. Kerry's website, but was unable to find his request to release the records. The Navy's initial response does mention a May 9, 2004, letter from his Senate office. It would be interesting to see the actual wording of that request, especially since it appears to have come from his Senate office, not his campaign. A quick Google search indicates that the "Standard Form 180" is the normal method of requesting one's military records be made available for all kinds of purposes.
Shortly after Saddam was captured in Iraq, a story broke about two young military intelligence analysts who had sifted through Saddam's contacts and family to locate the people closest to him. They produced a "mind map" with all the information summarized on a big sheet of paper that field commanders used daily. Ultimately, it led the soldiers on the ground to the truth about Saddam Hussein: the rat hole in which he was hiding with $750,000 in U.S. $100 bills. A similar approach would be helpful in learning the truth about Mr. Kerry.
John Kerry's privileged life didn't start when he met Theresa Heinz. His life was privileged early on – his service records already testify to that. There's a very good chance that someone in the military "took care" of young John Kerry during his stint in the Navy. The idea would have been to give him a "respectable" service record for future political aspirations. A full release of Mr. Kerry's military documents – including the seemingly innocuous ones that "aren't important" – would enable a clever reporter to identify that benefactor. Mr. Kerry's benefactor might well have been old enough that he is long dead and buried, but in the world of politics it's not always true that "dead men tell no tales."
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