Cleland fervent for Kerry

[Feanorcurufinwe]

Of the hundreds of volunteers who have descended on Iowa to campaign for their candidates, there can't be many who have had as much to contend with as former Sen. Max Cleland, who is on his third visit here for Sen. John Kerry. Suffering from the flu a couple of weeks ago, the triple amputee fell out of bed and broke two bones in his only hand. On Saturday, a wheel fell off his wheelchair while he was making a circuit of VFW clubs and American Legion halls in western Iowa, and he had to borrow a new wheelchair from the Veterans Affairs hospital in Omaha, Neb. But the former U.S. senator from Georgia was back on the trail Sunday morning.

<snip>

Cleland, who planned to go straight to New Hampshire after tonight's caucuses, said he believes veterans can play a surprising role in the fall election. "As a Vietnam vet, I look at Iraq and I have seen this movie before. No strategy to win, no strategy to get out, an open-ended commitment for the finest forces in the United States' arsenal," he told the Iowans.

He warned the Democrats against backing a candidate who can't credibly debate George W. Bush on matters of national security. Kerry, who was decorated for valor in Vietnam, is "the one guy who can call his hand on the hypocrisy of a bunch of people that never went to war, creating a war of choice, not even against the enemy who attacked us, but for oil," Cleland said.

After he spoke, Joe Tilley, a Carroll lawyer and Vietnam veteran, said listening to Cleland had been "pretty difficult for me." This part of Iowa is represented in Congress by Rep. Steve King, a Republican who recently accused Democrats who criticized Bush on the war of being unpatriotic. "To hear veterans who are against the war being called traitors, particularly from people who never served, that's hard," Tilley said. Cleland, in his talk, railed against "the Bush crowd that never went to war" sending troops into battle to "complete Daddy's war."
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0104/19cleland.html

[aquart]

1. The vets should stand by their own.

And from what I've heard, they've been doing a damn fine job of it.

[Melinda]

2. Cleland was MY Senator and he supported the IWR

He personally told me that it was the right thing to do, and that it was a necessary part of the war against terrorism... he broke my heart and he lost my confidence.

[mitchum]

4. Well, what's missing legs and an arm compared to a broken heart?

Cleland was also my Senator and he never lost my confidence

[Melinda]

5. What's missing legs and an arm compared to my dead fiancee?

Who died fighting a corrupt war all alone in a bloody battle field in Vietnam?

You really DON'T want to go there with the personal commentary toward me. You just don't.

[mitchum]

10. Hey, I'm not the one who came in pissing all over a positive...

thread about two great men.
YOUR personal threats mean jack shit to me.

[Melinda]

11. No, you just attacked me for stating my opinion.

I am certainly entitled to express my opinion; no one forced you to respond to my post. Max Cleland's service and loss of limbs has nothing to do with my feelings about his IWR vote - you made it personal by raising that issue. My Greg died all alone at the tender age of 19 years fighting in that immoral piece of shit war; his life was snuffed out, and my life was irrevocably, detrimentally changed forever.

My HEART MATTERS no matter what you say or think, and if you don't like what I have to say, then by all means utilize the ignore button - I will not be silenced on the issue of war and how it affects humankind and OUR hearts - not now, and not ever.

[Guaranteed]

12. Do you think Cleland did the right thing?

Did Kerry? I guess that's what really matters.

[salin]

3. I think Senator Cleland is amazing.

It is inspirational to see him take such a prominant role in the Kerry campaign. His voice, at least to me, is greatly appreciated.

[Old and In the Way]

7. I'm with you on this Salin.

Kerry's my personal choice.....he's got the whole package. This was Bush's war, not Kerry's nor any other Democrat. Supporting the UN and the security threat as defined by this administration's distorted and deceptive evidence clearly exonerates our Democratic leaders. I was against this war....but I was not having to make the decision as an elected Representitive for millions of people. This pResident clearly broke his trust and contract with the American people. Had he been honest about the evidence, Iraq should have been awash in WMD. That was not the case. We now know, in retrospect, that he lied...but is it fair to expect our Reps to gamble with our lives on hunches when "evidence" is provided that clearly shows otherwise? I don't think so.

[blm]

9. If Bush had adhered to the IWR we wouldn't have invaded.

But, sometimes it helps political agendas to blame the IWR.

[Old and In the Way]

8. Dupe

[dansolo]

13. I would rather seen him stay on the 9/11 commission

This was a man who supposedly had the goods on Bush, and he silently disappeared. He has not adequately explained why he left the commission.

[mb7588a]

6. Cleland for VP! nt