Just so I understand this...there hasn't been a slime/smear campaign against Bush these past several years with all sorts of unsubstantiated allegations? But you haven't bought into them have you Reg?
Yes, there have been slimefests of Bush as well. No, I have not bought into them. As a matter of fact if you check the archives of DBIS you'll find me coming to Dubya's defense. When idiots on the left called Bush AWOL from the Guard I said that was a blatant lie. I explained why it was a lie and said the people who said that had shamed themselves.
I said at the time we have to accept his service in the Guard as honorable in that the National Guard had no issue with his service. The Guard never charged Bush with being AWOL hence he was not. I'm comfortable with what the record states and people who try and bend the truth or change the story decades after for political gain are playing dirty. Nothing states in the official record that Bush was AWOL. If you say he is AWOL you are calling the whole National Guard liars. Nothing states in the official record that John Kerry is not a war hero. If you say he is not you are calling the entire US Navy liars. Not real bright or patriotic in either case. The people playing with these stories, I think, should be subject to rapid prosecution because that's the only way we'll get them to knock it off.
Our responsibility, I think, is to call bullshit, BULLSHIT! If we line up with folks that do this stuff we are supporting it and encouraging it. We are saying in effect "Bring it on!" and giving our stamp of approval to dirty politics. If these people see that they can affect the poll numbers with dirty politics they will keep doing it. If they see people making arguments for why we should believe these stupid stories it will only get worse. So when a guy like Bob Novak writes stories like the one you posted here, he's not doing his job and checking facts, he's writing another ad for the Swift Boat Vets For Sliming Kerry. He's letting us all down.
Nobody here would disagree with the idea that we've got a lot of important issues to deal with and these people have managed to get the media to focus on a ridiculous battle about Kerry's military record. It's sad and pathetic and this is one of those areas where the media drops the ball for us. It's juicy, it gets people from both sides of the aisle in an uproar, it makes us watch listen and read...but it's all bullshit. And they, the media, will play it out for maximum effect to get us to pay attention to them.
It's all so damn sad and pathetic. You know anyone with half a brain can see that Kerry was a leader in Viet Nam and he was a leader when he came home from Viet Nam. He stood for something in his choice to go to Viet Nam and how he served there and in his choice to testify about the war and the mistakes we made there when he came home. These were not easy choices for a young man to make. Think about that. These were not safe choices made to plan a political career. They were risky but showed he, even as a young man, was someone who would stand up for what he believed in no matter what it cost him. Showed he was someone who would put his money where his mouth was.
In choosing to go to Viet Nam it could have cost him his life. You and the SBV clowns may want to spin it now, decades later, for political purposes but the fact remains you can't convince the enemy to stop shooting at you because you are just there for a photo op. In choosing to testify about the war Kerry was not making an easy, safe, "politically motivated" choice that would someday help him get elected president. On the contrary, having survived Viet Nam and come back a war hero the politically safe choice would have been to step in line with the current administration and let them make him a poster boy for our military and our government's actions in Viet Nam. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
Kerry did no such thing though. He made a decision as a young man to go against what his government was saying, that would likely trash his standing as a golden boy and hero for our military rather than take the easy route. It was a decision that brought the full weight of the Nixon administration down on his head. They tore through his personal history and his military records. Hired John O'Neill to attack him. They put Kerry at the top of their "enemies list" and wanted desperately to destroy him. Kerry knew at the time that his testimony would cost him dearly. He knew that speaking out would in fact endanger his life, never mind his political career. He did it anyway. He stood up for what he believed in no matter the cost and fought another brutal battle here at home after fighting in Viet Nam. Only an idiot could think Kerry played it safe and made these choices to enhance his chances to someday become president. There was nothing safe or political in those choices. Kerry put himself on the line each time and led people.
Jesus, I just don't see how people could not respect that. Playing it safe would have been to seek deferments, finagle a spot in the Guard, say he was a conscientious objector to the war like ol' Slick Willie did. He could have easily done any of this or as a returning war hero let his government throw flower petals at his feet as he gave speeches about the brave soldiers we had fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American way over in Viet Nam. Kerry took the hard way, following his heart and his beliefs. He spoke the truth even though it was ugly and other soldiers called him a liar. George Bush was swilling beer and following his dick around, which by some accounts led him right to an illegal abortion during this time frame. Getting one of dad's pals to land him a spot in the Guard. See the big issue here is a lot of people understand these differences between these two men and on the Bush side...well...it hurts.
Personally I think we as a people in this country have become so twisted and jaded by the regular fucking we've taken at the hands of a bunch of greedy ideologues that we can no longer recognize a decent human being when we see one. We have all these cute but truly jackass phrases like "Anyone that actually wants to be president shouldn't be" that frankly sound like the utterings of someone that has their head way up their ass.
My issues with Bush go back to before the Florida debacle. We can all look at that and argue till the cows come home. See the thing to me is Bush should never have been the guy running against Gore. It should have been McCain. It wasn't though was it. Why did that happen? It happened because they smeared McCain and people fell for it. Republicans fell for it. The best man did not win, the dirtiest one did. We're living that again right now. I'm sorry Kevin, I understand and respect why you vote Republican. In this case though Bush lost my respect a long time ago and never has done a damn thing to win it back.
