Some anti-Kerry sources picked up a quote from a Kerry speech earlier today, and ran with it.

This was a typical treatment:

John Kerry speaking at a Martin Luther King day celebration in Virginia last year said, quote, "I remember well April 1968, I was serving in Vietnam. A place of violence. When the news reports brought home to me and my crew mates the violence back home and the tragic news that one of the bullets flying that terrible spring took the life of Dr. King." That date, of Dr. King's death, was April 4, 1968. According to kerry's website, it was not until November 17, 1968, that he reported for duty in Vietnam.

I looked up the original speech, and checked Kerry's timeline this morning. He was on the Gridley at the time, in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Now, the way I saw it, the Gulf of Tonkin could be seen as being in Vietnam. I'm no veteran, so I don't know how picky veterans are about this, but I would have given Kerry a pass on this one.

A short letter I sent to one blog ("comment" function wasn't working for me):

Kerry was in the Gulf of Tonkin on the Gridley at this time. I could give him a pass on him saying he was "in Vietnam" on this particular occasion.

By the time I got to Instapundit today, an example of the right kind of blog, the story/correction cycle had already completed. I never got a chance to write to Glenn. The results are here. The system at work. The result? This is probably a "non-issue."

"Update" is what it's all about. This is how it is supposed to work, and I prefer the sites that encourage it to work this way.