1992 Democratic Primary Candidates & John Kerry

[sujan]

Referring to the 1992 Democratic Primary Candidates, John Kerry said, “We do not need to divide America over who served and how.”

• “What is missing and what cries out to be said is that neither one group nor the other from that difficult period of time has cornered the market on virtue or rectitude or love of country.”

• “What saddens me most is that Democrats, above all those who shared the agonies of that generation, should now be refighting the many conflicts of Vietnam in order to win the current political conflict of a Presidential primary.”

• “We do not need to divide America over who served and how. I have personally always believed that many served in many different ways. Someone who was deeply against the war in 1969 or 1970 may well have served their country with equal passion and patriotism by opposing the war as by fighting in it.”

• “We do not need more division. We certainly do not need something as complex and emotional as Vietnam reduced to simple campaign rhetoric.”

[blm]

1. National security was not the playing field then that it is now.

Clinton, himself, said recently he'd have trouble winning in a post 9-11 election atmosphere based on his 92 resume.

[sujan]

2. so if you fought in a phony wars

that makes you more credible in dealing with issues that relate to national security?

[blm]

6. Not just fought, but studied and helped END

three wars. He helped END Vietnam. His exposure of illegal arms trading and covert actions helped END the Iran-Iraq war. His exposure of the illegal wars in Central America helped END those wars.

His foreign policy expertise was crucial in normalizing relations with Vietnam and bringing stability to Cambodia.

He helped craft the Kyoto Accord with other world leaders for 10 years.

Try some intense history recall.

[Octafish]

3. Good memory.

In those statements Sen. John Kerry was supporting the candidacy of Gov. Bill Clinton, who did what he could to stay out of uniform. There are a couple of letters documenting his thinking at the time. In the one where he changed his mind, he realized avoiding the draft threatened his "political viability."

I respect that Clinton did everything then above-board. He wrote to people and expressed his perspectives. He left a paper trail documenting what he did and why. He said, then, that he had changed his mind because if he wanted to be a political leader, he would have to demonstrate that he was willing to assume the same risks as anyone he might have to command.

Howard Dean did exactly the opposite in many ways. Dean, a son of priviledge, showed up with a doctor's note and an X-ray. He stated what needed to be said for the record. He got a medical deferment. The thing was false, however, as Dean was fit for service. Proof is that he spent that winter skiing, hitting the moguls for 80-plus days.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. If Dean had been a Rhodes scholar at Oxford

I would definitely have more respect for him.

[helleborient]

9. So varsity athletics is a requirement for your respect?

It IS a requirement to participate in varsity athletics to be a Rhodes Scholar.

Did you?

Should we be lacking in respect if you didn't?

[helleborient]

8. This has been addressed multiple times...

The army does not allow someone into the army known to have Howard Dean's condition.

However, it is a condition that may not incapacitate the individual who has it...basically a possible ticking time bomb issue. The army does not want to take that risk on the battlefield. An individual taking that risk is a different issue.

If this is such a major issue, why hasn't John Kerry made it part of his campaign stump speech?

[dreissig]

5. Kerry Voted for the War

If I were Kerry, I'd call on people to forgive and forget, too. He'd like to be forgiven for voting for the Iraq war: Let's be magnanimous about it, he says.

No deal. Kerry let us down big time. It wasn't just an error in judgement, it was a statement of values.

[Monte Carlo]

7. It was more than about Bush, it was also about Saddam.

Whether he had weapons or not, do not doubt Saddam Hussein's capacity for oppression or violence. Regardless of Bush's motives for war, a real threat of force is what allowed the UN inspectors to do their jobs.