[DrC]

When he approached his draft board for permission to study for a year in Paris, the draft board refused and Kerry decided to enlist in the Navy.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=352185

In short, Kerry became a war hero only because his first choice--to evade enlisting--was denied him. Kerry either needs to stick by his 1992 claim that how people served shouldn't matter, OR he needs to be held accountable both for his own choices prior to enlisting and for his subsequent decisions to give aid and comfort to the enemy upon his return. When Bush's actual record of service is compared to Kerry's full record, most impartial voters will be able to make up their own minds which individual better merits serving as CINC.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Furthermore, by his own admission, he volunteered for swift boats because they patrolled primarily offshore.

[mass55th]

The more I read about this bugger, the more obvious it is that he had his political life all planned out from the time he first met JFK and worked for Teddy. His anti-war rhetoric began before he graduated from college, and his liberal ways ("most people on the welfare roles deserve to be there") haven't changed one iota.