I took you advice Al, and I read this article. Part of the reason is because there’s just something about Kerry’s persona that had a “false” ring about it to me– sort of like Bill Clinton, without the charm. Maybe it’s the ambition, or maybe it’s just that way with all Democratic hopefuls. There seems always to be that false earnestness about them, that they “feel your pain”, just before they’re whisked away on their private jet to the next campaign stop.
This sense of the “fraud” could also come from Kerry’s recent need to “play up” ad nauseam his war record - to the point that it seems “trumped up”, even though he was indeed “in harm’s way”. He seems content now to allow himself to be referred to as “John Kerry: decorated Vietnam War Hero”, even though his service record does not show any notable acts of what I would consider true “heroism”, the Silver Star notwithstanding (but maybe that’s just my view of war “heroes” - that the true heroes usually don’t make it back home, or least, not in one piece). Furthermore, he didn’t seem to be particularly traumatized by his Vietnam experience.
In fact, this article points out that at least one of his Vietnam gunboat crewmembers, Gene Thorne, thought that the home movies, for instance, taken in Vietnam by Kerry were seen by Kerry “?as always? as part of a larger, more heroic film. “He was very much aware of the stage," Thorne says. "He knew that his actions in Vietnam might have some bearing on his future life.” Kerry doesn’t sound like the kind of guy I would like to follow into battle – with him mugging heroically for the cameras – just the kind of guy who would get you and others killed.
Kerry also had a very patrician upbringing. The Guardian article seems to downplay this, but I can’t tell whether the following passage is written “tongue in cheek”:”?He (Kerry) was brought up among the wealthy, but his was a threadbare, erstwhile aristocracy. [ NOTE: LOL!!! ] There were many houses, most of them other people's houses: in Brittany (a Forbes family estate, where his mother had spent much of her youth); on Naushon Island, just off Cape Cod (another Forbes retreat); in Washington; in Groton, Massachusetts. He had been sent to boarding school in Switzerland, and hated it (he speaks fluent French and some Italian). He was then sent to boarding school in the US, to St Paul's, in Concord, New Hampshire?”. Is this meant to elicit sympathy for Kerry’s “humble” upbringing, or is it just the usual sarcastic British humour? It almost sounds like they are referring to Prince Philip, and his “poor” Greek aristocratic roots. Phil did alright, so did Kerry.
The Guardian also points out Kerry’s shameful treatment of his first wife. She suffered from depression, and despite her “precarious” mental condition, Kerry decided to run for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in 1982. "When I get focused and set out to do something, I'm pretty good at staying focused," Kerry told the Guardian. "You don't want to let yourself down, you know what I'm saying? One loss is enough (referring to his 1972 congressional defeat)”. He was prepared, however, to “lose” his marriage, in the quest for political victory. Too bad he couldn’t show that same “focus” on his then wife and her illness. His decision to “push ahead” with his campaign lead to their separation and divorce.
Then there is Kerry’s pursuit of his current wife, Teresa Heinz, for love of course, not for the fact she is worth more than a half billion dollars (U.S.). Apparently, after their second dinner date he offered to drive her home and "?they stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; he showed her the names of his friends on the granite wall." Hang on just a sec?????oh, sorry?I was just being sick to my stomach. I wonder if Johnny Boy could show Terry any 8mm film of his dead buddies, or did they end up on the cutting room floor. Talk about keeping the evening light -just a playful little scamp, that John. Maybe on the next date they watched the Zapruder film and visited his idol JFK’s gravesite at Arlington, with John wearing one of his monogrammed “JFK” oxford shirts.
Thanks again Al for pointing out this article. It confirmed my suspicions about Kerry: he’s just another ambitious fraud who has been running for the Presidency since the day he was three and could pronounce the phrase “Democratic Candidate for the Office of President of the United States of America”.
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