>>This is how he described it to the Boston Herald in 1979: "I remember spending Christmas Eve of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese allies. . . . The absurdity of almost being killed by our own allies in a country in which President Nixon claimed there were no American troops was very real."
In 1986 Mr. Kerry argued on the Senate floor against U.S. support for the Nicaraguan contras, again citing the 1968 Christmas in Cambodia and "the president of the United States telling the American people I was not there; the troops were not in Cambodia. I have that memory which is seared--seared--in me." In a 1992 interview with the Associated Press the story came back: "By Christmas 1968, part of Kerry's patrol extended across the border of South Vietnam into Cambodia."
Trouble is, the person who appears to have been wrong here about Mr. Kerry's location was not the president--who was Lyndon Johnson, not Nixon, by the way--but Mr. Kerry himself. His commanding officers all testify to this fact, as do men who were on his boat at the time. And so now, reluctantly, does the Kerry campaign.<<
Tonto -
Is it possible that Kerry simply mis-spoke? Is it possible that he meant to say "President-elect Nixon"?
And even if not, even if Kerry did exaggerate his story for effect, many years later, what does this have to do with his Bronze Star, his Silver Star and his Purple Hearts? The official records of the Navy and ALL of the actual crewmen on his boat, support the validity of those medals.
You don't want to talk about that, though, because in this never-ending game of "gotcha", the whole point is to find one thing you can claim is a lie, then beat the other side over the head with it forever, and use it to cast doubt on every single aspect of your opponent's character.
- Allen
PS: Your claim that George Bush is more intelligent than Kerry is hilarious. |
