Liberal columnist on Kerry
Stop talking about Vietnam and start talking about Iraq
It remains to be seen if Kerry underestimated the depth of veteran bitterness and its ability to influence a broad swath of voters in 2004. At the very least, this fight with fellow veterans makes him look like another divider rather than the uniter the country desires. Yet, uniting is what Kerry says he wants to do. Articulating how remains a challenge.
The most recent Los Angeles Times poll puts Bush slightly ahead of Kerry, 49 percent to 46 percent, for the first time this year. The poll showed that attacks by Vietnam veterans criticizing his combat performance and antiwar protests are undercutting some of Kerry's support.
But part of the shift away from Kerry also lies in these polling statistics: 58 percent of those surveyed said they knew a fair amount about the general policies Kerry would pursue; but 4 out of 10 said they knew not much, or nothing at all. Seventy percent said they had a good idea what policies Bush would pursue.
To those of us that support Bush it is nothing less than a trend. Clinton convicted of lying, Gore's tendency to lie and exaggerate now Kerry's questionable accounts of his service and the demeaning of his fellow vetrans.
It is not about the deeds, it is about integrity. Kerry's service is probably okay and is at a higher level than Bush's service but his misrepresentation of that service smells to the high heaven as did Clinton's equivocating lies and Gores fast and loose treatment of facts.
Democrats are getting nervous and want to get off the Viet Nam subject.