Maybe, but Kerry... I don't know if I've just been missing this all along but something has come to me as a sort of epiphany. It seems the Republicans like to home in on some fine point of an opponent while glossing over the really gross points on their side. It also always seems to have a comic irony to it.

Alright, this Kerry thing: I can't believe his advisors haven't been able to counter this recent assault on the "medals" issue. It strikes me that there are essentially two points here; one of semantics and one of Kerry being a political animal.

The easy semantic one first. Most people will ask a serviceman (or woman) about the "medals" on their chest. They will most likely get a modest answer and no correction on the point that really what the civilian is looking at are "ribbons". Kerry threw his ribbons and the medals of other veterans across the fence. To use one overall collective noun, "medals", is not inappropriate. The fact that Kerry's handlers didn't have the mental dexterity to flip this is not a good sign.

But really the frosting on this, the comic irony, is that his detractors cut and ran when they had their chance to stand up and earn a medal. We know all of Kerrry's record. We don't know what was Shrub's reason for dereliction of duty. I had some Republican, talking about Clinton, tell me recently that it was wrong for Clinton to lie under oath. Well, yeah. And Shrub's oath to serve? Lying about a BJ where everyone was a willing participant versus lying to send people to their death and usurp the democratic deliberative process- how can you compare? It strikes me that you have to be hung up on orthodoxy and totally out of touch with any kind of a moral balance to say that the two are even in the same neighborhood ethically. It also strikes me that it is usually these self-described people "... of character" that will usually pull that kind of crap.

Now, Kerry equivocating on this. He rightly smelled what the Republicans were winding up for. It has become their stock in trade to question the patriotism and national loyalty of anyone that opposes them. It is such a sickening display that I'm not even going to bother with an example. If you haven't seen it, you haven't been paying attention or are dead.

Any day of the week, even if I don't trust Kerry, I'd still put my faith in a man who, as Kerry did, puts his butt on the line. A man who has risked his life has certainly earned the right to question what he did it for. I trust that man over the one that says he has such a great love for his country and then cuts and runs for drugs and dallying.

  ¶ 4/28/2004 10:11:00 PM