My reaction to Kerry's constant refrain of "I served in Vietnam, I won 3 Purple Hearts" was always, "Who cares? How exactly does that make you fit to be Commander in Chief? What about your record in the Senate?" And the "answer" was usually a form of "Look at Bush's military record, he was only in the National Guard and blew that off half the time."
IMO, military service per se does squat to prepare you to be President and Commander in Chief. Bush's military record was mediocre at best but I approve of his military actions since 9/11. Before all the SwiftVet controversy blew up, I just was getting tired of Kerry emphasizing 4 months in Vietnam and ignoring 20 years in the Senate. Now, however, it seems that Kerry has been, er, misrepresenting even those 4 months (can't say for sure, haven't read the SwiftVet book, but it doesn't look good).
So why should I (or anyone) care now about the SwiftVet controversy? Because, as Tony Blankley said, either Kerry and his "Band of Brothers" or the SwiftVets who contributed to the book are lying through their teeth. THAT matters. |
