comments
i thought i’d post this comment from my last entry because i feel very strongly about what i replied and i’m not sure if anyone reads my journal, let alone comments on previous entries. anyhow, here it is.
“‘justified’
john kerry’s use of his background as a vietnam veteran is used for two things: 1) to contrast with the bush/cheney ticket and 2) to show his national security credentials.
1) george w. bush got into the texas air national guard using his father’s influence. he skipped his last year after he was transferred to the alabama air national guard to work on a republican senate camapign. dick cheney had, and i quote the man, “other priorities in the 1960’s” other than fighting for the country.
john kerry was just as rich and privileged as both bush and cheney were. he volunteered to go to vietnam, and i think that say something about his character. whereas bush and cheney will weasel out of their commitments, john kerry will deliver on his.
2) since 9/11, the largely ignorant public now pays attention to the war on terror and national security. these two issues used to be bush’s strongpoints. if you look at national polls now, half of americans trust john kerry on the war on terror, iraq, and national security. that wasn’t true before the democratic convention... bush was leading him two to one.
the fact is, kerry has got something bush hasn’t and they’re going to exploit it. as they should.
- jeff raggio”
“‘Re: justified’
first of all, i said that i didnt think he should chastize the bush campaign for using 9/11 (which shows bush’s national security credentials) if he was going to do the same thing himself. and in regard to the polls, gallup indicates among registered voters kerry gained one point regarding the terrorism and iraq categories and still trails bush by 4 points in iraq and 16 points in terrorism. the polls indicated in the article you quoted in your blog closely resemble these numbers and indicate that kerry received little in the way of a “bounce” after the convention, and definitely not a jump from 2-1 to 50/50. in fact, based on likely voters, kerry actually fell a few points.
second of all, he spent four months in vietnam. during said time he recieved 3 purple hearts (one of which he had to lobby for) for injuries which have been reported as minor flesh wounds. his first was given to him for a piece of metal 1 cm long which left a cut 1-3 mm deep. according to his attending physician, he needed only a band-aid. it is standard military procedure to be granted leave from combat after 3 purple hearts.
thirdly, i’m sure his fellow vets much appreciated his indictment against them as a whole for committing war crimes upon his return from war. in fact, even some of those he stood on stage with at the dnc weren’t on speaking terms with him until recently.
next, i don’t think it’s accurate to talk about kerry delivering on any commitments given his record in the senate. he’s missed 89% of the votes in the last year, including the $25 billion dollar military funding bill.... when i remember him speaking about how we should support our troops so they don’t have to buy their own body armor... bush stands firm on his beliefs when they are popular and sticks with them when they’re not, as with iraq. by the way bush leads kerry 59-30 for not changing positions on issues for political gain and 55-40 for being a strong and decisive leader.
lastly, bush was given an honorable discharge from his guard duty 8 months early so he could attend harvard business school. he came back after blount’s campaign in alabama and made up the missed drills (it’s policy to allow absence for work related issues so long as the absentee returns to make up missed drills).
clinton, by the way, was assisted by family friends to receive a spot in the reserves once he was declared eligible for the draft upon graduation. although instead of doing that he escaped to oxford and organized anti-war and anti-draft protests and never served his country whatsoever. and i quote the man “First, I want to thank you, not only for saving me from the draft, but for being so kind to me last summer. . . At that time, after we had made our agreement and you had sent my [ROTC] deferment to my draft board, the anguish and loss of my self regard and self confidence really set in . . . I didn’t see, in the end, how my going in the army and maybe going to Vietnam would achieve anything except a feeling that I had punished myself and gotten what I deserved. So I came back to England to try to make something of the second year of my Rhodes scholarship. . . I decided to accept the draft in spite of my beliefs for one reason only, to maintain my political viability within the system. For years I have worked to prepare myself for a political life characterized by both practical political ability and concern for rapid social progress. It is a life I still feel compelled to try to lead.”
katie”
“‘justified’
john kerry’s use of his background as a vietnam veteran is used for two things: 1) to contrast with the bush/cheney ticket and 2) to show his national security credentials.
1) george w. bush got into the texas air national guard using his father’s influence. he skipped his last year after he was transferred to the alabama air national guard to work on a republican senate camapign. dick cheney had, and i quote the man, “other priorities in the 1960’s” other than fighting for the country.
john kerry was just as rich and privileged as both bush and cheney were. he volunteered to go to vietnam, and i think that say something about his character. whereas bush and cheney will weasel out of their commitments, john kerry will deliver on his.
2) since 9/11, the largely ignorant public now pays attention to the war on terror and national security. these two issues used to be bush’s strongpoints. if you look at national polls now, half of americans trust john kerry on the war on terror, iraq, and national security. that wasn’t true before the democratic convention... bush was leading him two to one.
the fact is, kerry has got something bush hasn’t and they’re going to exploit it. as they should.
- jeff raggio”
“‘Re: justified’
first of all, i said that i didnt think he should chastize the bush campaign for using 9/11 (which shows bush’s national security credentials) if he was going to do the same thing himself. and in regard to the polls, gallup indicates among registered voters kerry gained one point regarding the terrorism and iraq categories and still trails bush by 4 points in iraq and 16 points in terrorism. the polls indicated in the article you quoted in your blog closely resemble these numbers and indicate that kerry received little in the way of a “bounce” after the convention, and definitely not a jump from 2-1 to 50/50. in fact, based on likely voters, kerry actually fell a few points.
second of all, he spent four months in vietnam. during said time he recieved 3 purple hearts (one of which he had to lobby for) for injuries which have been reported as minor flesh wounds. his first was given to him for a piece of metal 1 cm long which left a cut 1-3 mm deep. according to his attending physician, he needed only a band-aid. it is standard military procedure to be granted leave from combat after 3 purple hearts.
thirdly, i’m sure his fellow vets much appreciated his indictment against them as a whole for committing war crimes upon his return from war. in fact, even some of those he stood on stage with at the dnc weren’t on speaking terms with him until recently.
next, i don’t think it’s accurate to talk about kerry delivering on any commitments given his record in the senate. he’s missed 89% of the votes in the last year, including the $25 billion dollar military funding bill.... when i remember him speaking about how we should support our troops so they don’t have to buy their own body armor... bush stands firm on his beliefs when they are popular and sticks with them when they’re not, as with iraq. by the way bush leads kerry 59-30 for not changing positions on issues for political gain and 55-40 for being a strong and decisive leader.
lastly, bush was given an honorable discharge from his guard duty 8 months early so he could attend harvard business school. he came back after blount’s campaign in alabama and made up the missed drills (it’s policy to allow absence for work related issues so long as the absentee returns to make up missed drills).
clinton, by the way, was assisted by family friends to receive a spot in the reserves once he was declared eligible for the draft upon graduation. although instead of doing that he escaped to oxford and organized anti-war and anti-draft protests and never served his country whatsoever. and i quote the man “First, I want to thank you, not only for saving me from the draft, but for being so kind to me last summer. . . At that time, after we had made our agreement and you had sent my [ROTC] deferment to my draft board, the anguish and loss of my self regard and self confidence really set in . . . I didn’t see, in the end, how my going in the army and maybe going to Vietnam would achieve anything except a feeling that I had punished myself and gotten what I deserved. So I came back to England to try to make something of the second year of my Rhodes scholarship. . . I decided to accept the draft in spite of my beliefs for one reason only, to maintain my political viability within the system. For years I have worked to prepare myself for a political life characterized by both practical political ability and concern for rapid social progress. It is a life I still feel compelled to try to lead.”
katie”