mml

I have no idea why I have chosen to wade into this filthy pool of mud, but I am. I don't like negative ads and mudslinging, but it works and it is legal. I don't like The Veterans for Truth ads or their book, but they have every right to release them. Now, Kerry and his supporters should not be called to task because they are going to defend themselves from this attack and most likely strike back. (i.e. discredit the individuals involved) I think that most of us can agree that we would prefer to have a real debate on issues that matter, not what may or may not have happened thirty some-odd years ago.

Yes, I know all the Kerry bashers will say it is about his character and tells us about what he will be like as President. Do you hold the same standard for President Bush? Do his actions as a young man (alcoholism, drug use, one failed business after another, SEC investigations, etc...) color your opinion of him now? If so, great - bash away at the both of them. The reality is that these are both men who love their country and want to see it succeed and prosper. They just don't agree about how to do it. That is what we should be talking about. I, like my Senator, John McCain, find this ad and these gentlemen to be disgraceful and only hindering the true and noble cause of determining who will lead our nation.l


Oh, and Onetime2 it was me who was "defending" 527s. I think I said they were not my favorites, but since they are helping to serve my goal of electing John Kerry I won't complain too much. I think I also threw in something about Republicans and "sour grapes" that the Dems were doing a better job in this arena. I don't think they are getting weaker, I think they have been saving their money for this interim period between Conventions (or Coronations whichever you prefer) where Kerry can't afford to spend too much money. I am still being a pragmatist, but I must concede I would love to find a way to rid ourselves of them and find a legal/consitutional way to deal with elections.

Also, here is an excerpt from "Meet the Press" where, in my opinion, Kerry shows he is an honest and thoughful individual who has grown (like we all do) over the years.

MR. RUSSERT: Before we take a break, I want to talk about Vietnam. You are a decorated war hero of Vietnam, prominently used in your advertising. You first appeared on MEET THE PRESS back in 1971, your first appearance. I want to roll what you told the country then and come back and talk about it:

(Videotape, MEET THE PRESS, April 18, 1971):

MR. KERRY (Vietnam Veterans Against the War): There are all kinds of atrocities and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free-fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50-caliber machine guns which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search-and-destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare. All of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down. And I believe that the men who designed these, the men who designed the free-fire zone, the men who ordered us, the men who signed off the air raid strike areas, I think these men, by the letter of the law, the same letter of the law that tried Lieutenant Calley, are war criminals.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: You committed atrocities.

SEN. KERRY: Where did all that dark hair go, Tim? That's a big question for me. You know, I
thought a lot, for a long time, about that period of time, the things we said, and I think the word is a bad word. I think it's an inappropriate word. I mean, if you wanted to ask me have you ever made mistakes in your life, sure. I think some of the language that I used was a language that reflected an anger. It was honest, but it was in anger, it was a little bit excessive.

MR. RUSSERT: You used the word "war criminals."

SEN. KERRY: Well, let me just finish. Let me just finish. It was, I think, a reflection of the kind of times we found ourselves in and I don't like it when I hear it today. I don't like it, but I want you to notice that at the end, I wasn't talking about the soldiers and the soldiers' blame, and my great regret is, I hope no soldier--I mean, I think some soldiers were angry at me for that, and I understand that and I regret that, because I love them. But the words were honest but on the other hand, they were a little bit over the top. And I think that there were breaches of the Geneva Conventions. There were policies in place that were not acceptable according to the laws of warfare, and everybody knows that. I mean, books have chronicled that, so I'm not going to walk away from that. But I wish I had found a way to say it in a less abrasive way.

MR. RUSSERT: But, Senator, when you testified before the Senate, you talked about some of the hearings you had observed at the winter soldiers meeting and you said that people had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and on and on. A lot of those stories have been discredited, and in hindsight was your testimony...

SEN. KERRY: Actually, a lot of them have been documented.

MR. RUSSERT: So you stand by that?

SEN. KERRY: A lot of those stories have been documented. Have some been discredited? Sure, they have, Tim. The problem is that's not where the focus should have been. And, you know, when you're angry about something and you're young, you know, you're perfectly capable of not--I mean, if I had the kind of experience and time behind me that I have today, I'd have framed some of that differently. Needless to say, I'm proud that I stood up. I don't want anybody to think twice about it. I'm proud that I took the position that I took to oppose it. I think we saved lives, and I'm proud that I stood up at a time when it was important to stand up, but I'm not going to quibble, you know, 35 years later that I might not have phrased things more artfully at time.

edit: also onetime2 thanks for the kind words and right back at ya!

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