Dole asking Kerry about Nam.

Well, I'm sure by now, we all know Kerry has at least two sets of plans for everything...

if so, it's a good thing. everytime he details one, bush jumps up the next day with " hey! i've got an idea ! "

LOL, Kerry details his plans never!

right-wing nuts vs left-wing nuts!
I wish there was a colour code so we could tell the difference. I shall remain a simple minded anarchist, it's not so complicated.

dys that's so easy...left wing nuts are commies...we're red

right wing nuts send young men to die in wars even though they avoided their service....they're yellow......

Hope that helps....

Actually, I suspect that left wing nuts, like Kerry, are the larger cowards.

<<yawn>>

Sofia
Sofia wrote: "But, because Kerry made it (Vietnam service) his sole criteria in the Presidential sweepstakes, and the resulting hullabaloo has made it such a provocative item of discussion--I feel I can give my opinion."

Nice try Sofia, but that doesn't hold up except as an example of the Big Lie syndrome. A lie, if told often enough, will cause people to believe it.

Actually, Sofia and a few other anti-Kerry A2Kers have tried to define Kerry's presidential campaign criteria as his service in Vietnam. Kerry has not done that. In fact, his military service and his commitment to veterans is the penultimate item on his list. It is the anti-Kerry forces that have tried to define Kerry in that mold by such tactics as the Swift Boat smearers use.

Kerry's agenda includes, but is not limited to:

John Kerry and John Edwards will stand up for America's values and have a plan to build an America that is strong at home and respected in the world. They believe we can have a strong economy focused on good-paying jobs, a health care plan that reduces costs, an energy plan that frees us from Mideast oil, and they believe we can strengthen our military and lead strong alliances that keep America safe and secure.

Children & Families
Civil Rights
Economy
Education
Energy
Environment
Health Care
Homeland Security
National Security
National Service
Rural America
Science and Technology
Stronger Communities
Veterans
Women

BTW Sofia, I suggest you and others read my post of the text of the Military's criteria for awarding medals so your misstatements don't continue to reflect badly on your knowledge.

BBB

That Kerry has felt the need to respond to the Swift Boaters indicates that his campaign, at least, feels their charges are doing some damage.

From what I've read and heard, with the exception of Kerry not ever being in Cambodia, let alone on Christmas Eve, none of the charges that can be clearly substantiated.

I have to say that the Swift Boaters have plausible responses to all of the evidence thrown in their faces, but to accept their explanations over hard facts is to, clearly, evidence a bias. I won't accept this sort of entirely subjective argument from Bush critics; I can't engage in it myself.

At the same time, I find it hard to sympathize with Kerry. He, after all, chose to set his Vietnam experience as the cornerstone of his campaign. Months in Vietnam as a kid, and decades in the Senate as a mature adult, and he runs from the latter for the quick emotional fix of the former.

I really would like to see the debate focus on his record in the Senate. Clearly, the positions he has taken during his 20 years as a Senator are far more indicative of the sort of president he might be than whatever actions he took in Vietnam.

If everyone is going to remain focused on Kerry of Vietnam, then, it seems to me, the most cogent aspect of his experience is his post-service activities. The record is quite clear on these activities, and the most interesting gymnastics will involve how he reconciles his running as a proud Vietnam Vet with his rejection of his medals, and his likening of his Band of Brothers to the horde of Ghengis Khan.

No matter what, Kerry was courageous in volunteering for and serving in combat. It's not enough to get my vote, but it does get my respect.

However, it is difficult not to view Kerry's service as one deliberate step in an ambitious plan for a political career:

It may be entirely unfair, but I can't help but think that War Hero status was but one entry on the John Kerry checklist for his planned eventual residence in the White House.

Having checked this item off, he lifted his prominent nose into the air, determined that perhaps War Hero was no more a requirement for a political career, and, voila, transformed himself into Anti-War Hero.

The first in a long career of flipflops.

What Kerry's flipflopping really tells us about him is that he is an opportunist, for whom the end justifies the means.

His flipflopping is so pervasive, and so ripe for highlighting by the GOP, that there is actually a risk that it will be ignored by the electorate as a campaign cliche.

He's put his plan out in a book. It is outlined on his website. He has been speaking about it for the last couple of weeks...

I don't think there will be a movie version for you.

For Kerry / Edwards Plan : http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/national_security/

For Speeches: http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/

For Kerry / Bush Comparison on National Security: http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/national_security/compare.html




To Make a Donation: https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html?dsc=NETA505&team=3

o.k. let's pretend you are right.

why don't you tell us all just what great plans bush has for us. and please try to do so without using "resolve", "values", "strong leadership", "faith", "today america is safer" or that all time family favorite, "stay the course".

Sofia wrote: "... because Kerry made it his sole criteria in the presidential sweepstakes, ... "

Hardly.

But he did us his record to counter misrepresentations of "softness" by the Bushies and to assure Americans he would be strong leader in the war against terrorism. Quite valid.


re Kerry's post-Vietnam public service record: a non-partisan has put together an excellent site detailing the records of many politicians running for office (Dems and Repubs)

http://www.votewithavengeance.com/kerry.html

excerpt.....

As the junior senator of Massachusetts, John Kerry has garnered an extensive portfolio of purposeful causes. Just scratching the surface of his agenda, Kerry brings much-needed attention to issues such as small businesses, housing, veterans' affairs, environmental protection, education, child abuse, health care, and foreign relations."

I'll take his record over Bush's in Texas any day.

(see Molly Ivans' "Bushwacked".)

p.s. Don't Tread, you forgot "Mission Accomplished" !

I hear this a lot from people so I decided to think about it (yes that's the squeaking sound you hear). While I personally despise that kind of opportunism and ladder climbing in a person I would call a friend, I would expect it in a person who wants to be president. In my opinion, it provides an even starker contrast between Kerry and Bush. One has been working toward the goal of becoming president for over half his life, the other became president despite the fact that he never did anything to prepare for it. I don't see anything wrong with someone who's willing to work for something, even if that work and that something are not things that I would do or want.

Well, to each his own.

I would suggest that if you find a particular behavior reprehensible in a friend or in yourself, then you might want to reconsider assigning it as a virtue in someone running for president.

Bush is just a good 'ol boy from texas, kerry is a left wing liberal who has been a politician his entire life.

I would rather have someone real, like Bush as president.

bush isn't "from" texas, he's a new englander like his daddy. he may have been partially raised in texas, but he's what a lot of us southerners can't stand; a spoiled, arrogant frat boy.

yeah, he's real alright. a real what i couldn't say...

He most certainly did, through his surrogates.

"We all" meaning those who believe Bush's lies i.e. the one about Kerry wanting to be the Ant-War candidate. Bush lies, gets his surrogates to mount a smear campaign against Kerry and actually gets about 40% of the electorate to buy it. Well, I have got news for Bush and all the apologists, there are just not enough stupid people who vote to ever get Bush elected president.