The Swift Boat Saga, Part XI: The Featured Instigator Checks In

As promised, I'm letting others weigh in. The Featured Instigator sends down his thoughts from South Jersey...

My 2 cents:

The only reason any of this is being discussed is because Kerry made his service the cornerstone of his qualifications for being President. So he made it fair game. The fact that so many of his former fellow officers have come forward to speak out about him, regardless of who financed the actual ad, says something about Kerry the man and leader. Now, there will always be people that don't agree with you or like you, especially in the military. But for this many people to care this much, 30 years after the fact says something to me.

I have never quite bought into the "left-wing" bias until this election cycle. I tend to think that the press focuses on stories they can hype and get ratings from (witness the "storm of controversy" surrounding Paul Hamm that the media keeps referring to. Hmmmm..the only storm is the one the media is creating.) However, last night watching the Swift Boat story on ABC News, I was amazed by the angle of the story. Basically it was "Kerrry is being attacked - is this right?" Not once was the idea suggested that we need to figure out whether the accusations have merit. It was all about how W hasn't denounced the attack itself.

Look, both W and Kerry were children of priveledge and I think they both benefitted from that during a time of national strife. To be honest, if I was alive at that time and had that opportunity, I can'r say I wouldn't have done the same thing. I'm very proud of my father's service in Vietnam, but I don't think he would have just volunteered to go there if he didn't have to. So while a majority of my brain faults Kerry for being a wimp, part of me says "Who wouldn't want to get the hell out of there?"

That being said, I do believe Kerry is being dishonest about his record. And I definitely feel that he's shamelessly using his (brief) military experience for political use. W never made his Guard experience the cornerstone, or even a small issue, in his campaign for President. I realize others have done this in the past (Ulysses Grant, Eisenhower, McCain). 2 out of those three were responsible for the decisive victories in major wars. The third one suffered for years and still came home believing in his country. It seems to me that Kerry views his veteran status as just another plaque on the wall that shows how great he is.

I do agree with Joe that neither candidate is qualified for the office which they seek (or currently hold). The sad thing in politics today is that this is no longer necessary. In my cynical opinion, major politicians are now almost actors in roles written for them by the major parties and their "advisors." There are very few politicians out there that really have educated opinions or that can make a decision based on their own experience, intelligence and morals, at least without polling first.

Strangely enough, Arnold Schwartz seems to be breaking that mold. Say what you will, but the dude has his beliefs and sells them to the people and to his friends and foes in governement alike.

Pai, print this or don't. I don't care.