Posted on 08/08/2004 9:08:31 AM PDT by laurenmarlowe
Posted on Sun, Aug. 08, 2004
The Bush reaction that really matters
By Mark Davis
Special to the Star-Telegram
If his Vietnam veteran critics' stories develop any legs, we may soon spend some time assessing whether John Kerry is blowing huge clouds of smoke our way about his Vietnam service.
A group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, asserts that Kerry's medals are phony, as are his stories of valor and honorable service in his four months in a combat zone.
I have no idea what to think of these accusations. I would neither embrace nor dismiss them without further examination.
But there is one Kerry behavioral issue that arose again last week and requires no extended perusal. That is the degree to which the candidate will stoop to score a dirty political hit.
Kerry may blister President Bush all he wishes on any issue -- the economy, the war, anything. If it is an earnestly held view, the worst I'll say is that he's wrong -- OK, dangerously wrong when the stakes are this high.
But his profound wrongness does not make him a bad guy. It just makes him a bad choice for president.
But there are things that candidates can do that are so cheaply over the top that they are a window to the soul. Such things do not have to be particularly loud, long or attention-grabbing. They can be as routine as a sentence spoken in answer to a question.
Speaking to a group of minority journalists last week, Kerry chose to second-guess the first few shattering minutes of Bush's awareness that the 9-11 attacks were under way.
In the aftermath of that day, no significant attention was brought to bear on why Bush remained where he sat, in front of a Florida classroom full of kids, for about seven minutes after chief of staff Andrew Card whispered to him that the second plane had hit the World Trade Center, removing all doubt that America was under attack.
That's because most people understood that under such horrific circumstances, a series of events kick in that a government can plan for but never experience until the unspeakable happens.
That morning, it happened. In retrospect, there is an understandable period of discomfort captured on video, featuring Bush sitting in front of that class, crafting the first thoughts of what would become America's response to one of its worst days ever.
If crazies like Michael Moore wish to pervert those moments into fantasy for political gain, that's one thing. For a candidate to do so is another.
As the Secret Service assessed the situation and mobilized to get Bush out of that school and out of the state, it created a period of time that Moore uses as a blank slate to portray Bush as a corrupt idiot, not knowing what to do, wondering if the jig was up for his entire sweetheart relationship with the Saudis.
The idiocy of Fahrenheit 9/11 apparently fills a muse role for Kerry now. On Thursday in Missouri, Kerry had the raw audacity to cast aspersions on the passage of those few minutes before Bush was in the parking lot.
"I would have told those kids very politely and nicely that the president of the United States had something that he needed to attend to, and I would have attended to it."
And been tackled at the knees by the Secret Service.
If it takes seven minutes to establish the safety and efficacy of getting the president out of a building in unexpected haste because the country is under attack, that's what it takes.
My favorite quote on this comes from someone who knows a little something about responding to a terror attack:
"John Kerry must be frustrated in his campaign if he is armchair quarterbacking based on cues from Michael Moore. John Kerry is an indecisive candidate who has demonstrated an inconsistent position in the war on terror."
Those are the words of Rudy Giuliani.
For Kerry to make an issue of whether Bush should have left that classroom at 9:06 or 9:13 a.m. is obscene. The first three years after the attacks make the difference -- not the first minutes.
Bush has spent those years mounting a war that has seen al Qaeda on the run, a terror-friendly dictator deposed in Iraq, the seeds of democracy planted in his place, and no further attacks on our own soil. Kerry would not have fought this war in this way, no matter when his rear end would have left that classroom seat.
And that is what will matter on Nov. 2.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Davis is a talk-show host on WBAP/820 AM. mdavis@wbap.com
The window into Kerry's soul is all fogged up. Perhaps by hot air. Or maybe it's the lies.
"What he did when he came back was shameful, as has been his record in the Senate."
Exactly. Focusing on his war experience was a deliberate calculation to divert attention from his records as a politician. That's what really scares Kerry. Unfortunately, the press, in it's nightly Kerry info-mercials lightly disguised as news, will never take a serious look at Kerry in Vietnam or Kerry in the Senate. The press sees Bush bashing as the key to a Kerry presidency, so that's all we'll see from the supposed watchdogs of democracy.
I will continue to see if Mr. Davis will follow this story. I believe he will. He has a large talk radio presence here in this area and is usually well informed.
Add to this that Kerry himself was too stunned and confused to do ANYTHING for the first FORTY mintues. LOL. What an idiot.
I did email Mr. Davis the "rest of the story", so that he would know.
The blogger pointed out that there was about 45 minutes between the second WTC attack and the Pentagon attack.
So, by Kerry's own admission, after the second WTC attack, he just sat for 45 minutes "unable to think" and without any concept of the passage of time.
Yes, thanks for pointing this out. I did email Mr. Davis this information so that he would know.
Kerry has no soul.
1) He had a camera mounted on his swift boat to capture heroic scenes of him in action. He also staged reenactments of his alleged heroism (dressed as a soldier) for film. Why did he do these things? Clearly, he had an agenda of creating a legacy for himself in order to run for government. The Viet Vets should focus on this ridiculous behavior rather than whether or no he deserved medals.
2) His voting record is very liberal and he has missed many meetings of key committees on which he served. This should be discussed more.
3) His liberal tax and spend idea is an old one that has driven our economy into recessions everytime they adopt it. For example, the economy was recovering nicely at the end of Bush Sr's term, Clinton inherited the growth and then killed it off with tax increases. Thus, Dubya inherited Clinton's tax-induced recession. How do you get the economy back on its feet? Tax cut. What does Kerry want to do? Raises taxes and kill off the economy.
4) The Two Johns promise not to lose any more jobs overseas. How are they going to do that? Kerry says that 99% of corporations will receive tax cuts (or credits). Wait a minute! He is going to raise taxes substantially on anyone making over $200,000 a year but, at the same time, lowering taxes on 99% of U.S. corporations? This is social reengineering at its worst. He wants to punish those who have worked hard to get where they can make over $200,000 and, at the same time, reward overpaid union members by cutting taxes on manufacturing firms that produce products that are too expensive. Of course, this won't work and Kerry will have to adopt tariff walls. This is, of course, exactly what the European Union and China want - an emascualted U.S. economy.
Kerry is going to drive us into a Carter-like recession within 3 years. The Dow will be below 10,000 in three years leaving investors with little earnings on their retirement accounts.
I don't see where anyone has pointed out the fact that moving the President, especially when it is just been made apparent that the US is under attack, is a complicated matter. The logistics must be extensive to say the least. It's not like he can just jump up and run to his SUV and split. It seems that 7 minutes is a fair amount of time for the Secret Service to have prepared a plan as to how and where the President would be moved.
Kerry really is grasping at straws.
I agree with you on every point. Kerry is a traitor in every sense of the word.
This action destroyed the morale of the POW's who were tortured with film footage of his and hanoi jane's speeches. It provied aid and comfort to the enemy.
He lied under oath to congress about war crimes that never happened. He failed to report the plan to assassinate several sitting US Congressmen. He has a 20 year history of failing to support the military. His voting against most of the modern weapons systems in use today, his votes against military pay raises, his votes against Veterans health care. His actions on the POW/MIA issue as mentioned in the Village Voice. 'Senator covered up evidence of P.O.W.'s left behind When John Kerry's Courage Went M.I.A.' 2/24/04.
Last of all but not least is his NO vote to fund our Troops in Iraq, the $87 Billion which funded kevlar vest, armor for their humvees and ammo. Included in that $87 Billion was $1.3 Billion in Veterans health care and relief from concurrent receipt taxes. The Vet health care item was in the Washington Times article about the 21 medal of honor winners supporting Dubya.
He also skipped voting to fund the latest defense budget which provided more money for our Troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, because he and edwards were to busy campaigning.
For the past 20 years he has a history of 351 tax hike votes including Clinton's tax on Social Security income. His latest tax hike vote was on 3/10/04 for $1.8 Billion. And his 20 years of gutting the 2nd amendment. And a 20 year history of voting against the Unborn.
The more I have thought/fumed at this statement, the more I consider it an accurate assessment of how sKerry would speak in many situations. He is so full of himself, that he would not be able to resist reminding anyone and everyone that he is president. That would get him out of answering questions, etc. He has bome important president stuff to do--like snowboarding.
Thank you for your comments. Kerry is a liar and traitor to our country.
"My name is Steve Gardner. I served in 1966 and 1967 on my first tour of duty in Vietnam on Swift boats, and I did my second tour in '68 and '69, involved with John Kerry in the last 2 1/2 months of my tour. The John Kerry that I know is not the John Kerry that everybody else is portraying. I served alongside him and behind him, five feet away from him in a gun tub, and watched as he made indecisive moves with our boat, put our boats in jeopardy, put our crews in jeopardy... if a man like that can't handle that 6-man crew boat, how can you expect him to be our Commander-in-Chief?"
-- Steven Gardner
The above quote was from a press conference given at the National Press Club in Washington on May 4, 2004. You may view Steven’s comments at the following web site. Just scroll down to Steven’s picture and click on it.
http://swift1.he.net/~swiftvet/index.php?topic=SwiftVetQuotes
Searching through that web site, you will find 250 men who served on Swift boats, including the entire chain of command above Lt. Kerry, agree with Steven Gardner that Kerry is not fit to be Commander-in-Chief. That compares to the 13 crew members who support his candidacy.
Thanks. I am wholly on the side for the Swift Boat Vets, and all veterans alike who want to get the message out that Kerry is a liar and a traitor.
Well done, Mark Davis!
Thanks for you comment. IMHO, Mr. Davis almost continually practices good journalistic judgements.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.