Thirty years on, why the ghosts of Vietnam may still haunt Bush

[Feanorcurufinwe]

In 2000, Mr Kerry asked: "Those of us who were in the military wonder how it is that someone who is supposedly serving on active duty having taken that oath can miss a whole year of service without even explaining where it went." At the weekend, Mr Kerry’s campaign told the New York Post that the senator stood by his comments. A spokesman for the Republican National Committee said Mr Bush had been honourably discharged and that Mr Kerry’s past comments were "completely out of bounds and inappropriate".

Any damage that Mr Bush might have sustained in the 2000 election on account of his war record was minimised, however, by the fact that his rival Al Gore’s military experience extended no further than being a military journalist in Vietnam.

Mr Kerry’s record would present the president with a greater obstacle. "I stand by my record of 35 years of fighting in foreign policy," Mr Kerry said yesterday.

"I led the fight to stop the Vietnam War and I have been doing foreign policy in the Senate for 20 years." He left unsaid the suggestion that neither his rivals for the nomination nor the president can make any such boast.

While the war records of Mr Kerry and Mr Bush could scarcely be more contrasting, Mr Kerry must first deal with his Democrat rivals. Mr Clark responded to Mr Kerry’s victory in Iowa by saying their military records - and by extension national security bona fides - could not be properly compared since "with all due respect, he’s a lieutenant and I’m a general".
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=96112004

[LiberalBushFan]

1. Using the Bob Dole trap to smear Clark, are you proud?

Good for Kerry for having said what he said in 2000, but he's clearly stated he's not going to bring it up this election season. He even said that "obviously" he doesn't have evidence that Bush is a deserter, and that Michael Moore is over-the-top.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

2. Tell Alex Massie [e-mail]

"At the weekend, Mr Kerry’s campaign told the New York Post that the senator stood by his comments."


The thing about Kerry, or Clark, is they don't need to call attention to the difference in character and courage between themselves and Bush, it is obvious.

[JI7]

3. the point is to play up his own record

this keeps it positive while clearly showing the difference.

[isbister]

5. true

might have to bang the press over the head with it for the next seven months but eventually they'll get it and dog bush about being AWOL.

[isbister]

4. deserter is over the top

AWOL isn't. bush came back eventually, deserter couldn't be the charge now because bush's actually returning to serve eliminates the possability that he did not have the intent to return.

Absent With Out Leave is another matter.

[isbister]

6. Those folks that forged the Niger documents

might be getting some overtime soon. (at their regular rate of pay because bush eliminated OT for them, of course)

[emulatorloo]

7. Maybe no overtime, but I bet stock options in Halliburton n/t