Quote:
Originally posted by irateplatypus
i'll side with the traditionally left leaning posters in defending kerry's war record because no matter the circumstances they (his medals) were awarded to him... he still put himself in harms way for a while, more than many in his generation were willing to do. even if you could prove that he did it for a political future, that still takes guts whatever the motivation.
i'm just confused why this is all of the sudden a positive aspect of kerry's campaign. since when did democrats push military service as a positive factor in political leadership?
Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush Senior and GWB have all performed military service and i've not seen these two things come from that...
1. i've never seen a liberal cede the point that their military service makes them more qualified for office.
2. i've never seen any of the aforementioned men make their military service a campaign talking point like kerry has used his.
if you want to talk about heroes... talk about Bob Dole. there is a humble man who has more to boast about than nearly every politician this century... yet did not allow it to be exploited when people tried to make a big deal of it in his run for the presidency.
all this to say: i don't think anyone has the right to delegitimize kerry's service, but i think the way kerry has used it in his campaign is vulgar compared to how presidential candidates of the past have treated theirs.
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I want to add to Superbelt's points:
I don't think Kerry is trying to win voters with his record; rather, he is using it as a rebuttal to certain claims regarding his record insinuating he is anti-american.
He is already an elected official. When his service and dedication to the country began to be questioned, the news reports indicated that he hadn't used his record as a political issue before.
The way I see it is that leftist political thinkers also recognize reality when we see it--despite what others might think. Kerry isn't saying he will end the war, so are being given the choice between two presidents who say the war will continue. Do you see any other candidate out there--one who is promising to end the war? I don't even know very many people who think we should just stop involvement tomorrow. Honestly, I don't even know how I feel about that myself. I can say, however, that I would rather have a president who fought in a war and witnessed its horror (I haven't met anyone who has argue against this being the case--and more of my familiy is military than not) be the one guiding the government right now. And let's be clear, I don't want someone to run the nation--that's our job--I just want someone to guide the government.