Surely THIS Is Not The Ass-Kicking He Promised?

John Kerry elects to bully a contributer to the Swift Boat 527:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Senate hearing that began with glowing tributes to a St. Louis businessman and his qualifications to become ambassador to Belgium turned divisive Tuesday after he was criticized for supporting a controversial conservative group.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, grilled nominee Sam Fox about why he donated $50,000 to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth during the 2004 presidential race. The group of Vietnam veterans made unsubstantiated allegations against Kerry -- then the Democratic presidential nominee -- and charged that Kerry did not deserve the medals he won in the Vietnam War.

Geez, last fall Kerry promised to go after the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and "kick their ass from one end of America to the other".  Is this the promised ass-kicking?

Of course, since he is no longer running for President, the ass-kicking may be on indefinite hold.  However, Bruce Kesler had the same reaction to today's story that I did - when will the public, and not just three Kerry-philic media outlets, see Kerry's full military record, and when will any of us see his war diary (the WaPo asked, was rebuffed, and lost interest)?

And despite my confidence that no one in the media will make any attempt whatsoever to pursue this, let me reprise a puzzle of potentially huge headline-generating proportions which I described again last fall:

If I could pick one issue on which to see some documentation it would be Kerry's first Purple Heart.  Two of the Band of Brothers, Zaladonis and Runyon, back up Kerry's account of the incident, described by Runyon as the scariest night of his life.  However, press accounts do not link these two to this incident until early 2004 (I recall a February story, but can link to an April one).

And this is truly baffling - Zaladonis apparently said nothing about this incident to Douglas Brinkley when he was interviewed (repeatedly) for Brinkley's book back in 2003.  Zaladonis sailed on PCF-44, Kerry's first boat, just a few days after the Purple Heart incident, yet he never mentioned to Brinkley his first encounter with Kerry, where Kerry had his first combat and earned his first medal.  Does that make any sense at all?

That is some odd memory by Zaladonis and quite a ghastly interview technique by Brinkley.  What did Brinkley ask, anyway - "Tell me about the second time you met John Kerry?  Do you remember any dramatic events other than ones that led to medals?"  How could Zaladonis have been interviewed repeatedly yet never mentioned this?  If your imagination is not dark enough to provide a guess, try this - in 2003, the first Purple Heart was not a political problem for Kerry; when it became a problem in 2004, Zaladonis stepped into the breach to vouch for him with an invented story.

To compound the oddness, Brinkley makes no reference whatsoever to Kerry's War Notes in his re-creation of the night of Kerry's first combat and first Purple Heart.  One might have thought Kerry would have jotted down a few thoughts, or sent a letter home, or somehow commemorated his first combat and his first medal.  Yet Brinkley, Kerry's very friendly historian, relies on his interview with Kerry (and non-interview with Zaladonis) to tell this tale.

And what does it mean?  Well, it may simply mean that Brinkley is an utter bust as an interviewer and historian.  But *if*, I say IF Zaledonis is, uhh, misremembering his involvement with Kerry's first Purple Heart, then the credibility of the Band of Brothers takes a bit of a hit below the old waterline.

And of course, the long look away by the MSM will also be a bit of an embarrassment - how did they miss this cover-up that has been hiding more or less in plain sight for over two years?  How did they fail to connect these dots?  Why did they let Kerry get a free ride on his Vietnam fantasies?

Oh, why even ask.  But I do have modest hopes that one day real historians will tackle this (we should live so long...).

Comments

[clarice]

Arthur Schlessinger (Kennedy family fabulist-ahem-historian) died today. Douglas Brinkley would be a perfect replacement.

(The last time I saw him he was in a boat in New Orleans w/ Spicoli right after Katrina.)

[clarice]

It is ironic that JFK picked this time to attack the 527's when Soros pumped $2o million into his campaign largely thru smear merchant 527s and Teresa did thru the money laundering Tides Foundation. Was there ever a more full of it hack?

[clarice]

Italiacto!

[Ralph L.]

I remember A. Schlessinger at the Clinton hearings. So very Haavaad.

Surprised TM didn't zing Kerry for whining two years later, like Taranto did in Best of the Web.

I'm curious if his brother officers despised Kerry before his public betrayal of them. I'm guessing yes, and he returned the favor.

[Ralph L.]

At this point, the fogs of war and time and MSM cloud his citations well enough for him to escape. I would like to know why Kerry's discharge was issued so late, in fact in the Carter years, after the amnesty.

[Denny]

John Kerry, AlGore, Billary Clinton, John Edwards and George Soros and their ilk are PROOF that there really ARE two Americas; One for them, and one for the rest of us.

But, I came in here to give you good news of great joy!
A new political party is being offered to the tens of millions of Americans who feel that both the Republican party and the Democrat party have NOT led them to achieve what they really want our government to do for them.

We want our borders secured and our immigration laws ENFORCED NOW! We want tax reform-and we want it ASAP! We want much more efficient, innovative and effective SMALLER government that gives us more bang for our hard-earned buck. We want Senate rules that currently do not allow an up or down vote for all executive appointment to the federal judiciary changed to allow a constitutional up or down vote. We want our second amendment right to keep and BEAR arms VIGILANTLY protected! We believe America’s best and brightest days are YET to come! We yearn for REAL change that PRODUCES real results that truly satisfies our good desires for our families, America’s future and our posterity. And, we want it all RIGHT NOW!

The new party is called the ‘New Republican Party’ and can be further studied at my website. This party is what we, and millions of others like us, have all been searching for…but it has never existed before…until NOW!

[Ralph L.]

And it will only be open from midnight to 4 am.

[Nick Kasoff - The Thug Report]

There is a simple reason why the MSM hasn't looked into this any further: John Kerry is a "has been." In the unlikely event he is ever a candidate for anything other than senator from Massachusetts, I'm sure somebody will get back on the trail.

You are right about one thing, though: This isn't much of an ass kicking. And I can't think of a reason why he'd give up on that just because he isn't running for President - after all, were it not for those evil Swift Boat guys, Kerry would be President, we'd have peace in Iraq, gas would be $1.50 a gallon, and we'd all be looking forward to President Kerry's second term. Yep.

Nick Kasoff
The Thug Report

[kazinski]

As a proud Swift Boat Veterans for Truth contributor, I can only tremble waiting for the knock on my door. Course my 25$ is going to put me way down the list, but I will say I've gotten more satisfaction out of that $25 than almost any other similar sum I've ever spent. Just reading the article and feeling John Kerry's impotent anger has me smiling all over again.

[MayBee]

Oh, come on TM. This is a verbal ass-kicking if ever there has been one:

"Might I ask you what your opinion is with respect to the state of American politics as regards the politics of personal destruction?" Kerry asked near the end of the hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Ouch! I hope Fox was wearing padding. Or diapers.

[bad]

I think John Kerry is an expert on the subject of ass kicking because I suspect he gets one at least once a day from his wife.

[Ralph L.]

He can take it, but he can't dish it out.

[Jane]

Didn't see this one.

[Jane]

There is a simple reason why the MSM hasn't looked into this any further: John Kerry is a "has been." In the unlikely event he is ever a candidate for anything other than senator from Massachusetts, I'm sure somebody will get back on the trail.

Uh, we'd really like to get him out of that job around here, so maybe someone could indulge us.

[Ralph L.]

So you can get another Sen. Kennedy?

[Jane]

He's up to die.

But we have slim pickings, at any rate.

[BumperStickerist]

For those in the Reality-Based Community who think that it was the Right Wing made a big deal out of John 'Aw-Shucks' Kerry's Military Service, the name of Kerry's PAC?

Citizen Soldier Fund.

Kerry's first action at the Democratic Nomination?

{Bad, Bad Hand Salute} Reporting for Duty

Kerry's Self-Promoting Campaign Biography featured which of the following:

1) Images of John supervising the baking of cookies from his store?

2) Images of John in uniform in Vietnam?

3) Images of John supervising the numbering of the stones of the castle in England so that they could be crated up and shipped to the US to be rebuilt?

----------------------

Forget the details of any particular incident, the fundamental conclusion of Kerry's in-country Vietnam service is that, at the end of the day, John Kerry was a combat officer, who risked his life, performed at times heroically, but walked away from his command, because he could.

-

[Other Tom]

Having been there and done that, I have absolutely no intention of "forgetting the details" of any particular John Kerry incident. They are seared--seared!--in my memory, I tell you! The man was a deceitful manipulator who abused the awards system for his own aggrandizement, and in the process earned the contempt of the overwhelming majority of his fellow officers.

And for the record, it's the events of the day he got his third purple heart--and a Bronze Star--that trouble me the most. But hell, we ran this fraud out of the presidency, and I guess I'll have to settle for that.

[capitano]

JFK: Teresa, the MSM reporters aren't returning my calls.

Teresa: Swift Boat.

JFK: But what if they bring up my promise to release all my military records.

Teresa: [Chuckle.]

[PeterUK]

It is quite simple,if what John Kerry claims is true,he would have quashed any contrary viewpoints by releasing the details,that he didn't speaks volumes.

[PaulL]

I hope this isn't too obvious, but THIS IS A JOB FOR FITZGERALD. Put Zaladonis, Brinkley, and Kerry under oath and grill each of them for eight hours in front of a grand jury.

[PaulL]

Ralph L. said: ***I would like to know why Kerry's discharge was issued so late, in fact in the Carter years, after the amnesty.***

That is basically the reason, after amnesty. The thinking is that Kerry received less than an honorable discharge, and that Carter replaced it with an honorable one.

The amazing thing is that no one in the military, under severe penalty of law, is allowed to even discuss anything to do with the original less than honorable discharge. From what I can tell, original records were truly destroyed, and replaced with the new Carter ones. No one who remembers is allowed to talk about it, and the paper records are no more. The original records will *not* show up in Kerry's files. They are expunged.

I guess the original thinking behind it is that it doesn't do anyone any good to get a Carter honorable discharge if everyone is going around nodding and winking and hinting that it isn't legitimate.

But in the case of vainglorious presidential candidates running on their military record, it is a problem for people who care about the truth.

[Alcibiades]

Further down in the column, the watchword is it's "a mistake":

--Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, a presidential hopeful and chairman of Tuesday's hearing, said he found Fox's responses "unsatisfying." He said he would have preferred if Fox admitted it was a mistake to contribute to the Swift Boat group. ---

In the post-Oprah era, everyone has to admit everything that is not universally popular is a "mistake." I suppose this is Senator Obama's idea of "reaching compromise" and "negotiating."

[Other Tom]

The more I learn about this Obama fellow, the less I like him.

[Sheage]

Kerry is from Mass. Chayes and Harvard are from Mass. Kennedy has loans for school and PC.

Harvard is a city. It was founded by a Shaker Village. Quakers and Shakers, maybe an earthquake?

[Other Tom]

What's up with this "Chayes" stuff? Why are we supposed to care about this Chayes person?

[Shakage]

I got it ryhmes with Shays.

[JimO]

kazinski

As a proud Swift Boat Veterans for Truth contributor, I can only tremble waiting for the knock on my door. Course my 25$ is going to put me way down the list, but I will say I've gotten more satisfaction out of that $25 than almost any other similar sum I've ever spent. Just reading the article and feeling John Kerry's impotent anger has me smiling all over again.

Thank you, I second your comments. I also contributed and it is the proudest contribution that I have ever made. It really made me feel that I could make a difference. I believe Kerry to be the biggest phoney that we have in politics and there are many. I'm sure that he is carrying the list of all of us that contributed and I say, bring it on. We were ready before and we'll be ready the next time. What a complete jerk.......

[kaski]

Kazinski? I know that name from somewhere. If I remeber right I should leave(run and hide). That Jim guy and that Arthur guy too.

The Arthur guy was a professor and yesterday bothered me so I'll let the JOMs go figure the Afghanistan war and Plame.

Bye.

[Other Tom]

I have the same feelings as JimO and Kazinski. I contributed also, and it still gives me a delicious frisson just thinking about it. As it happens, I ended up giving zero money to the Republican party and everything I had to give went to the SwiftVets. It was an easy choice. And if that phony, pompous son of a bitch had run again, I would have ponied up even more this time.

[fdcol63]

... phony, pompous son of a bitch ...

Well said. LOL

[PeterUK]

Other than,"The dog ate my discharge papers" excuse, why would anyone want a new sanitised version? Why not ask Jimmah?

[Jane]

What's up with this "Chayes" stuff? Why are we supposed to care about this Chayes person?

The same person (or people) keeps referencing Andover where Bush went to school (but Kerry didn't). I can't for the life of me figure out what they are trying to say.

[Uncle Pinky]

Hey, where's the QandO link. I just updated the Java on my box, and that might explain some temporary glitchification, but really. JOM is, of course, on my toolbar, but I like to be able to swoop in and open QandO in a seperate tab. Was there a reason for the de-link?

[centralcal]

Kerry's "war record" is a double edged sword for him. Every time he brings it up it reminds his detractors what it is about him that is repugnant to them and gets the conversations going again. And, I think even some of his supporters cringe about it too (though they will never, ever admit it).

[clarice]

OT--Was the frisson as good for you as it was for me?
Those contributions to the Swifties kept my blood pressure down thru the campaign.Now, what to do when the press says they were discredited?

[bio mom]

Please let the national nightmare that is John Kerry be over.

[Other Tom]

The "now-discredited" meme is something we will just have to live with. All we can do is respond with "you mean he really did spend Christmas in Cambodia?" And we can go to our graves with the satisfaction of having laid this bastard low.

[JimO]

Kerry only saw combat by accident and then phonied up his records to get out of there as soon as possible. When you study the background, he joined the Swiftboats because it was supposed to be light duty away from the action. Then right afterwards their mission changed and he started his games to get out. Even before he went to Viet Nam his other comrades at sea saw what an ass he was.

[JimO]

BIO MOM. Please let the national nightmare that is John Kerry be over.

It would be over if he would not keep bringing it up like he did at the Sam Fox hearing. He knows he's a phoney but he keeps thinking that he is so much smarter than the rest of us that he can continuely defunk the Swifty's. He and the press are still trying ti discredit the Swifty's as Clarice said above. Kerry's people still are giving the Swifty's all kinds of problems but they are men that "really" fought in Viet Nam and did not run away so you can be sure that he will never get them to coward like he did. He's a chicken shit bully and I'm trying to hold back my real feelings.

[tryggth]

Thanks Tom. That tears it... I'm not going to vote for Kerry. Bush '04!

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

Over at the Angry Bear our old buddy pgl was claiming in the comments:

'All (as in 100%) of the Swift Boat claims were crap.'

I reminded him:

'Christmas in Cambodia, anyone?

Which prompted this novelty from him:

'February 1969 - the Tet celebration. Sort of the Vietnamese version of Xmas. But chickenhawks like PRS would not know that.'

[Gabriel]

I made waffles for breakfast to commemorate another moment in the John Kerry Spectacular. They're so much tastier when you're eating them while watching John Kerry constructing a wall of non-sequiturs.

What exactly does the SBVT have to do with the duties of the US Ambassador to Belgium?

Why is the chair of the hearing, Yahwe...I mean Senator Obama, allowing the line of questioning to divert to this trainwreck of subject?

Senator Kerry can't even remember his own Christmases and he's only had around 60. Fox has had thousands of calls soliciting for money in only the past two years.

[Pofarmer]

The more I learn about this Obama fellow, the less I like him.

There isn't much room for me to go lower.

[MTT]

Italics off?

[Other Tom]

I just went to Angry Bear and unloaded. My name appears there as "Wacko," I'm proud to say.

[Pofarmer]

Oh, and I bought, and read, "Unifit for command". I've never seen one thing in their publicly discussed, let along, "discredited".

Feh.

[maryrose]

JimO:
Thank you for your comments. They echo my feelings exactly. Your prsentation was excellent. Every time I think about his original reason for going and then when he realized how dangerous the mission was-he bolted it makes me sick. My brother was at an Air Force Base in Saigon. There was no early exit for him.

[Pofarmer]

Dad was at Cam-Rohn bay.