Posted on 08/13/2004 10:51:35 PM PDT by kattracks
[snip]Well, as it turns out, Kerry wasn't in Cambodia (at least not then), and the president wasn't lying (at least not then)/ Depending on whom you believe, Kerry was in a boat either five miles away or 50. In Douglas Brinkley's biography, "Tour of Duty," based in part on Kerry's diary, Kerry was at Sa Dec, 58 miles from Cambodia.
A few days ago, Kerry campaign adviser Jeh Johnson tried to clarify for Fox News, "... I believe he (Kerry) has corrected the record to say it was some place near Cambodia. He is not certain whether it was in Cambodia, but he is certain there was some point subsequent to that that he was in Cambodia."
If Kerry didn't fabricate, he exaggerated. Or misspoke. Or got confused. Or something. But whatever the differences among versions, the story is part of a larger narrative that may matter more than the details.
It is a story of naked ambition and grandiosity, the narrative of a self-absorbed man who always needed to be best and first, whether captain of the boat in Vietnam or winner of the debate in school. Who, when accidentally knocked off his snowboard as an adult fumed, "I don't fall down."
He's the sort of man who thinks to take a movie camera to war to document himself for uses now known to be political; who willingly exploits his heroism in ways real heroes never do; who builds a career on disgust toward a war he later characterizes as the crowning achievement in a life that seems more résumé than real.
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
But it's seared in his memory, seared.
The only thing seared about Kerry is the salmon he gets served after a photo op at Wendys.
I can just see him as president: "We bombed Iran today because they continued to produce weapons grade uranium, or, er was that Iraq, well, maybe it was 5 miles from Iraq in Kuwait. Wait, no it was Saudi Arabia, and we haven't bomb them yet, but we will on Christmas Eve, or was that January?
Don't let those Marines near by.
Maybe alot of other things were seared, seared in his noggin.
What a piece of work. Total moron. What a dork.
He's the sort of man who thinks to take a movie camera to war to document himself for uses now known to be political; who willingly exploits his heroism in ways real heroes never do; who builds a career on disgust toward a war he later characterizes as the crowning achievement in a life that seems more résumé than real.
Or perhaps lightly charred.
He's not a dork.
He's a smeghead.
Come to think of it, he does resemble Rimmer.
Can we find an Ace?
Actually, he meant to say sauteed.
On the one hand, John Kerry knowingly lied attesting to war crimes he and others he knew did not commit.
On the other, Bush used intelligence to make an Executive decision on intelligence he did not know was faulty, but if it was true, he could not ignore.
On the one hand, John Kerry repeatedly told a story about a secret mission in Cambodia to add to his heroic image that apparently never happened.
On the other hand, George W. Bush never disclosed a DUI when he was much younger, rasher, and still drinking.
On the one hand, John Kerry may have lied about the conditions and means in which he received wounds for which he was awarded three Purple Hearts, but for which the military deemed well and enough for an honorable and early discharge.
On the other hand, George W. Bush may not have shown up for months at a time for Guard drills while in Alabama, but still managed to complete his basic obligations, and received an honorable and early discharge.
On one hand, John Kerry commanded a small swift boat in Vietnam in combat as a Lt.(jg) for four months and twelve days, and earned the distrust and low opinion of his fellow officers that has lasted to this day.
On the other hand, George W. Bush has been commander in chief during a time of war for three and a half years, and he now enjoys a high level of favorability among non-partisan former military personnel, and it is rumored that he has the support of a large percentage of the military vote.
On the one hand, John Kerry has repeatedly changed his position to appeal to his immediate audience.
On the other hand, George W. Bush has stayed the course with his positions with a steady and firm resolve.
If, after reading this, you support John Kerry, please raise your left hand.
If, after reading this, you now support George W. Bush, raise your right hand.
For those of you who raised your left hand, please remove your ear plugs, blind folds, and return to your blissfully ignorant lives.
For those of you raised the other hand, I think you all are beautiful, beautiful people, and this moment will be seared... seared into the very fiber of my being.
It was seared -seared- in his memory. It is written like that in the Congressional Record, I saw a scanned image of it posted. I am sure its at the SwiftBoat Vets site.
RED DWARF!!
Rest assured, it was pulled from the kerry site.
"Like many Americans, I'm reluctant to second-guess anyone's wartime performance. None of us knows how we'd perform under the unique stress of battle. Whether Kerry was indecisive or heroic so long ago doesn't much interest me. Stories get told about war; details get lost or distorted by time and memory."
Well, as a veteran of Vietnam, let me second guess. We are not talking about a bunch of veterans sitting around telling each other war stories, forgetting some details and colorizing others. We are talking about a man who has made up stories from whole cloth to advance his own political career. He has used his brother veterans to promote his phony heroism, and attempted to degrade and humiliate other veterans who have challenged his description of events. Futhermore, it is becoming clearer and clearer he did not do much if anything to earn many of the medals he has. As a veteran who has always tried to keep faith with my brothers I find his behavior beyond disgusting. He is worse than men who were never near Vietnam, but who claim to be veterans. They are usually troubled people, whereas Kerry is simply a dirtbag.
Further on that I heard somebody point out of late, in the case of the DUI there was nothing "new" about that story. Bush had been totally honest about that part of his life while lot providing gory details or specifics. To have one of those illuminated wasn't pretty but it in no way changed anything about the presentation or nature of the individual in question, this case Bush.
In the case of Kerry this is central to his core being and drastically changes everything he's ever represented about himself, every position or posture he's ever taken. He is now exposed as a fraud at the core of his being and a pretty pathetic one at that.
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.