RICHARD NIXON'S REVENGE

Merry Andrew wrote


Kerry's military service is moot so far as I am concerned unless he decides to run for president again in which case it will again become an issue. Kerry's six-year service would have concluded in 1972. But then, according to the undocumented assertion on his website--that page has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared from his website after the last Russert interview and since bloggers have been researching this--Kerry, by this time an anti-war activist, 're-upped' for six years to be on inactive standby to l978. Have you ever heard of anybody doing that? Ever?

Kerry has refused to sign the Form 180 to allow researchers to see what actually did happen or if he actually did re-enlist.

Again, for the purpose of this thread, none of this is important on its own merits. It is simply illustrative of the amazing lack of media curiosity about it when Dan Rather and others kept bringing up and bringing up and exploring and dissecting George Bush's military record that at most contained a curious period of missing months. Bush did sign the Form 180 so its all out there for anybody to look at. Why hasn't the media required such forthcoming from Kerry or delved into the record at the depth they have done so re Bush?

To me it all adds credence to the thesis of this thread. Dan Rather is not alone, but Dan Rather was flagrant and obvious in his bias and willingness to stretch the truth and use false documentation to attack a sitting president.

And that's why Buchanan said Nixon, who for right or wrong felt the media attacked him right out of his job, must be smiling to see one of the egomaniacs devoid of journalistic ethics finally get some comeuppance.

foxy, to answer your question posed in the first paragraph, "Hove you ever heard of anybody doing that? Ever" Yes, I have. It's not even that uncommon. To be an anti-war activist is not the same as being a pacifist or being anti-militery. Just from my own experience, I can readily imagine a person who likes the military deciding to stay in the standby reserve after his/her tour of active duty is completed. There is no reason why that same person cannot be vehemently opposed to the war in progress at that time.

Maybe so Andrew, maybe so. But I've never EVER seen it done--not by anybody in my heavily military family or anybody else, and certainly not by somebody like Kerry who was adamently anti-military and anti-war and testifying before Congress to that fact. And, the fact remains, if everything is as open and honest and up front as Kerry maintains, he would sign the Form 180 and clear it all up immediately.

And again the issue of Kerry's true status is not as interesting to me as is the thesis of this thread in that the media is pretty much giving him a pass on this. That Meet the Press segment when Russert finally brought it up finally did deal with it has been almost universally ignored by the other mainstream media. If that had been Bush on the hotseat, they would still be mentioning it.

Gee, I wonder why if it were Bush "they" would still be mentioning it. Actually I've seen the press lay-off his military record lately and I don't believe it is because there is nothing there. Could be because there is too much nothing there that it's been scrutinized.

I don't see the "anti-military" in Kerry's testimony before Congress -- I see him as against using the military for the wrong reasons. The media giving him a pass during the campaign is false. He was not elected President so I see no reason to carry on about it on-and-on (yet, on a recent crossfire, Bob Novak choose to make a point about dredging up all the mis-information as fact). It's now up the the voters in Kerry's state to decide whether he should still represent them.

False? Then why doesn't Kerry sign the Form 180 and show it to be false?

I said the statement that the press laid off of Kerry during the campaign on the subject was false. I have no idea why he is reticent to sign Form 180 and at this point it is moot. Let it go and get a life.

And again LW, you totally missed the whole point here. The issue of how the media has treated Bush re his military record and how the media has treated Kerry re his military record is entirely pertinent to the thesis of the thread. You're entitled to agree to disagree with anybody's opinion, but if you don't like the discussion, then please feel free not to participate in it.

Interesting digression.

Nixon's just not gaining any bonus points by any of this.

Nor was the point ever to grant bonus points to Nixon.

And I see no difference on how the media has treated Bush or Kerry on their military record and you haven't shown any. The point really is, Nixon is no longer President nor alive and Kerry is not the President. If you can't see how really pointless this is all is then I suggest you go back to smoking your opium and continue to check out of the real world.

Foxy - I almost did a backflip when I read this article (I didn't see the program) back in January. It's a transcript of Kerry with Russert on "Meet the Press", where Russert gets Kerry to promise to release his records!!!

MR. RUSSERT:  Many people who've been criticizing you have said:  Senator, if you would just do one thing and that is sign Form 180, which would allow historians and journalists complete access to all your military records.  Thus far, you have gotten the records, released them through your campaign.  They say you should not be the filter.  Sign Form 180 and let the historians...

SEN KERRY: I'd be happy to put the records out.  We put all the records out that I had been sent by the military.  Then at the last moment, they sent some more stuff, which had some things that weren't even relevant to the record. So when we get--I'm going to sit down with them and make sure that they are clear and I am clear as to what is in the record and what isn't in the record and we'll put it out.  I have no problem with that.

MR. RUSSERT:  Would you sign Form 180?

SEN KERRY: But everything, Tim...

MR. RUSSERT:  WOULD YOU SIGN FROM 180?

SEN KERRY: Yes, I will.  But everything that we put in it, Tim--everything we put in--I mean, everything that was out was a full documentation of all of the medical records, all of the fitness reports.  And I'd call on those who have challenged me, let's see their records.  I want to see the records of each of those people who have put up a challenge, because some of them have some serious questions in them, and it hasn't been appropriate...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6886726/

Oh, and on the same "Meet the Press" program, he couldn't help getting in one last dig (hehe, Russert wasn't buying it):


SEN. KERRY: If you take half the people at an Ohio State football game on Saturday afternoon and they were to have voted the other way, you and I would be having a discussion today about my State of the Union speech.

MR. RUSSERT: And the president will say if he had half the people at a high school basketball game in New Hampshire or Oregon, he would have carried those states because he lost them by 5,000 or 7,000.

_________________________________________________________

OK, bottom line is he promised three weeks ago and guess what? Nada. No records so far and as far as I'm concerned, he ain't gonna. No how, no way. How's he gonna 'splain that his discharge papers were signed during the Carter administration, while he was supposedly discharged years earlier? 'Nuff said.

LW: CBS used forged documents trying to prove a point about Bush's records, yet during the campaign said almost nothing about Kerry not releasing all of his records. See the diff?

Then, when the CBS Rathergate report was released, proving that Dubya had indeed volunteered for Vietnam (it's right there in the report with a copy of the document), CBS chose to again stay silent. Oh sure, it's buried in the 200+ page report, but did they bother to point that fact out or even mention it? No.

Maybe they thought no one would bother to read it. Or, maybe they haven't bothered to read it.

JW writes


And going back to that period leading up to, during, and just post Rather's infamous broadcast, I seem to recall numerous references to Bush's military record that was resurrected numerous times by the media during the course of the campaign four years ago and again during this past campaign.

How many references have appeared in the mainstream media since that Meet the Press broadcast?. Zilch, nada, nothing. Plus the discharge and military record page has disappeared from the Kerry website SINCE that broadcast.

Wouldn't you think somebody out there in alphabet media land would be just a tad curious? Kerry has not ruled out running again in 2008 and is continuing to protest the vote that he considers flawed with the implications it cost him a presidency.

(I did see the broadcast JW and commented on another thread I thought Kerry disgraced himself.)

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
No I'm too upset about Cav's passing to comment on this pathetic turn of events.

Maybe tomorrow.

J

Cav was indeed a gentle, caring, compassionate soul. I will miss him a great deal.

How come Kerry's failure to sign his 180 isn't Clinton's fault?

Oops, did I predict the next diversion?

Joe(Quick change the subject.) Nation

To the best of my knowledge, even a President can't sign a citizen's Form 180. (Muttering that after checking other threads as well, there must be a full moon tonight.)

Note to JW: Has Kerry signed his Form 180 as promised yet? And yet even the most equal-opportunity media-drill-sergeant Mr. Russert han't mentioned it again so far as I know. Maybe they think it doesn't matter any more now that the election is over and all. But can you imagine them giving George Bush a pass on that?

It has been just as interesting watching big media usher Dan Rather into 'retirement' with no mention of 'memo gate'.and I'm sure the emphasis on that will be cleaned up in the rhetoric over time until the public is convinced he was just another victim of circumstances and innocent of any important ethical lapse.

Maybe the new Fifth Estate is going to be the internet after all.

Foxy - funny you should ask LOL. Since his 'promise' to Tim on 1/31, I've been emailing him once a week or so here.

I've been pretty nice so far, but yesterday I flat out asked him (considering what he said to Don Imus last month) if he planned to sign it in my lifetime or should we count on it being sometime in the next century LOL.

Did you catch him on Imus? Here's what Mr. Clueless said (yet again):

IMUS:  You also told Tim that you would sign this Form 180 releasing all of your military records.  Have you done that? 

KERRY:  Yes, we're going do that.  Absolutely, I will do that.

Listen, I also think...

IMUS:  When are you going do it? 

KERRY: As soon as soon as I get clarified with the military.

IMUS:  Why don't do you it today?

KERRY:  Because I have a stack of different materials they've sent me every time they've sent me something, and I want to know exactly what they're sending. 

I'll get it done. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6928257/

Sure, John. 'Cause inquiring minds wanna know. There are 31 pages or so that just might 'splain those two scratches and one boo-boo and why he was conveniently allowed to write-up his own recommendations for medals and some nice, cushy stateside duty.

Oh, well. He still hasn't sent me an answer, but...keeps promising

In the meantime, I'm glad Dan Blather is finally gone. He is gone, right? Please tell me he's really gone LOL.