04-08-2004 11:07									#1
	John Kerry: Unfit For Command Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

quote: XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX TUE AUG 03, 2004 21:35:02 ET XXXXX ANTI-KERRY VETS GATHER FOR ASSAULT; BOOK CLAIMS KERRY WAR 'FABRICATIONS' **Exclusive** A veterans group seeking to deeply discredit Democrat John Kerry's military service will charge in the new bombshell book UNFIT FOR COMMAND: Two of John Kerry's three Purple Heart decorations resulted from self-inflicted wounds, not suffered under enemy fire. All three of Kerry's Purple Hearts were for minor injuries, not requiring a single hour of hospitalization. A "fanny wound" was the highlight of Kerry's much touted "no man left behind" Bronze Star. Kerry turned the tragic death of a father and small child in a Vietnamese fishing boat into an act of "heroism" by filing a false report on the incident. Kerry entered an abandoned Vietnamese village and slaughtered the domestic animals owned by the civilians and burned down their homes with his Zippo lighter. Kerry's reckless behavior convinced his colleagues that he had to go -- becoming the only Swift Boat veteran to serve only four months. The Kerry campaign is planning to vigorously counter the charges and will accuse the veteran's groups of being well-financed by a top Bush donor from Texas, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. "They hired a goddamn private investigator to dig up trash!" charged a top Kerry adviser traveling with the senator late Tuesday. "This is pay for play, and the dirtiest of all dirty tricks ever played on a candidate for the presidency. How low can they go?" Kerry supporters are comparing the effort by the veterans to the Arkansas State troopers tell-all against Bill Clinton. UNFIT FOR COMMAND will not be released until August 15. The names. The details. All on the record. Beginning tomorrow, the DRUDGE REPORT will break the embargo. ----------------------------------------------------------- Filed By Matt Drudge Reports are moved when circumstances warrant http://www.drudgereport.com for updates (c)DRUDGE REPORT 2004 Not for reproduction without permission of the author

http://www.drudgereport.com/ufd.htm

Buckle up, kids -- it's gonna be a hell of a ride.

	04-08-2004 11:11									#2
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hey, at least he fought in the war. And saved a fellow soldier. Everything else is just semantics.

	04-08-2004 11:13									#3
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There's nothing there, just some people who didn't particularly like Kerry, and are trying to hurt his chances. I don't think it will hurt Kerry at all.

	04-08-2004 11:17									#4
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quote: Kerry's reckless behavior convinced his colleagues that he had to go -- becoming the only Swift Boat veteran to serve only four months.

	04-08-2004 11:21									#5
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Interesting twist on the "three easy PH" story, isn't it?

	04-08-2004 11:25									#6
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bush was unfit commanding a beer bong. they are just fighting fire with fire at this point. really makes politics look like schoolyard fueding

	04-08-2004 11:26									#7
	Suffering from ads?

How cares about the purple hearts. The fact remains, he served IN vietnam and fought. Everything else, semantics.

The fact is that Bush can't say the same. He has said to be in war. Now I don't see a huge uprising against that right now. Someone digs up some dirt on the service of Kerry, which is not even confirmed yet, and it somehow is a big deal.

Fact is: Kerry served, Bush didn't.

If I were on the Bush team (I'm not on anyones team btw), I wouldn't have allowed this move. Why? BEcause it will backfire on them. YOu want to start comparing military records? And Bush lied also about his military career. Kerry hasn't blatantly lied, hey if he got self inflicted wounds, then he got them. So what? So he is boosting up the story a bit, so what? He still saved his fellow soldier and actually fought in the freaking war. That tells me a lot more about the man than Bush.

WHat I think is that Bush team swallowed the trap. In Kerry's speach, he said that he hopes they cna do a positive race, and that it won't go to this level. And it went to this level. Now it will backfire on them, because Kerry gets the higher grounds by default. Huge mistake IMO. In Bush's website, it's not a BUsgh website. It's a Kerry hating website. Kerry's site is Kerry site. It tells me a lot more about Bush than Kerry, to see his website.

They have lowered themselves to mud throwing people, who don't fight the issues, but do these kind of stunts, which make sme believe their campagn isn't looking too good.

What a shame.

	04-08-2004 11:40									#8
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quote: Originally posted by Pekka They have lowered themselves to mud throwing people, who don't fight the issues, but do these kind of stunts, which make sme believe their campagn isn't looking too good.

Err, the entire campaign was pure mud-flinging. Actually, the whole political climate in the US consists entirely of mud flinging since about the Lewinsky affair.

	04-08-2004 11:45									#9
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Far longer than that.

	04-08-2004 11:47									#10
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This is because politics in the US has for far too long been based on things like "character".

I don't want to know your ****ing character; I want to know your platform.



Is it any wonder that less than half of them vote?

	04-08-2004 12:25									#11
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Well, going buy the way the book looks, I would be suprised if that's a unbiased, orderly account for mr. Kerry's military career,

Obviously, there's no point in filling up air-time and newspaper columns with information and facts about the issues the election ought to be about.

	04-08-2004 12:31									#12
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Where does the american love for presidents who served in war come from?
Why would someone be capable to be a president if he served in war?
If someone served in war he showed that he's capable to take orders. Not to give them.

I'd take any non-militairy president over a militairy president any day. Unless we're talking about an important official (general or something) during war-time.

	04-08-2004 12:37									#13
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quote: Originally posted by Pekka How cares about the purple hearts. The fact remains, he served IN vietnam and fought. Everything else, semantics. The fact is that Bush can't say the same. He has said to be in war. Now I don't see a huge uprising against that right now. Someone digs up some dirt on the service of Kerry, which is not even confirmed yet, and it somehow is a big deal. Fact is: Kerry served, Bush didn't.

The way the facts get played you might guess that if you aren't a vet you can't be president.

Is it the United Starshiptroopers of America?

	04-08-2004 13:17									#14
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quote: Originally posted by Kropotkin Well, going buy the way the book looks, I would be suprised if that's a unbiased, orderly account for mr. Kerry's military career,

You mean like Fahrenheit 911 was just an unbiased documentary?

quote: Obviously, there's no point in filling up air-time and newspaper columns with information and facts about the issues the election ought to be about.

There's plenty of space for that, and if Kerry's going to run on his war record, we're going to run him through his war record.

	04-08-2004 14:10									#15
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This is the same set of authors who claimed that the Clintons once hung prophilactics from their Christmas tree. Take that how you will.

	04-08-2004 14:17									#16
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Given the way you spelled prophylactics, I'll need proof.

Last edited by The Mad Monk on 04-08-2004 at 20:06

	04-08-2004 14:59									#17
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quote: Originally posted by CyberShy I'd take any non-militairy president over a militairy president any day. Unless we're talking about an important official (general or something) during war-time.

Yeah. Grant and Eisenhower were like the best presidents ever.

	04-08-2004 15:02									#18
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Given how we (Americans) view those presidencies, I'm not certain how to take that.

	04-08-2004 15:03									#19
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quote: Originally posted by Pekka How cares about the purple hearts. The fact remains, he served IN vietnam and fought. Everything else, semantics. The fact is that Bush can't say the same. He has said to be in war. Now I don't see a huge uprising against that right now. Someone digs up some dirt on the service of Kerry, which is not even confirmed yet, and it somehow is a big deal. Fact is: Kerry served, Bush didn't. If I were on the Bush team (I'm not on anyones team btw), I wouldn't have allowed this move. Why? BEcause it will backfire on them. YOu want to start comparing military records? And Bush lied also about his military career. Kerry hasn't blatantly lied, hey if he got self inflicted wounds, then he got them. So what? So he is boosting up the story a bit, so what? He still saved his fellow soldier and actually fought in the freaking war. That tells me a lot more about the man than Bush. WHat I think is that Bush team swallowed the trap. In Kerry's speach, he said that he hopes they cna do a positive race, and that it won't go to this level. And it went to this level. Now it will backfire on them, because Kerry gets the higher grounds by default. Huge mistake IMO. In Bush's website, it's not a BUsgh website. It's a Kerry hating website. Kerry's site is Kerry site. It tells me a lot more about Bush than Kerry, to see his website. They have lowered themselves to mud throwing people, who don't fight the issues, but do these kind of stunts, which make sme believe their campagn isn't looking too good. What a shame.

Just because you served doesn't make it ok. Military service does not make someone automatically better than someone who didn't. The military is full of people who I would surely move if they became president. I've met some really great people and some who are just plain muther ****ers.....

	04-08-2004 15:04									#20
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quote: Originally posted by Last Conformist Yeah. Grant and Eisenhower were like the best presidents ever.

Eisenhower was good, Grant was either corrupt or tremendously incompetent as President..

	04-08-2004 15:14									#21
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I put Eisenhauer in the top 8.

	04-08-2004 15:29									#22
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The book isn't even out yet.

	04-08-2004 16:00									#23
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quote: Originally posted by CyberShy Where does the american love for presidents who served in war come from? Why would someone be capable to be a president if he served in war? If someone served in war he showed that he's capable to take orders. Not to give them. I'd take any non-militairy president over a militairy president any day. Unless we're talking about an important official (general or something) during war-time.

Um, Bill Clinton (Vietnam era Draft Dodger) beat George Bush Sr. (decorated Navy bomber pilot from WW2) and Bob Dole (decorated WW2 Infantry Officer) within the last 12 years.

Right now we are fighting two wars on the ground as well as a nebulous "war on terror" all over the place. So the experience issue has some meaning. Note that Bush has four years of experience in the top job, though he's been a bit of an incompetent. Kerry had four months at the lowest level, and one wonders whether he wasn't a bit of an incompetent as well, the claims made in this book aside.

His military record is almost unique. Someone above him was certainly very dilligent in filling out the paperwork to get him medals at a minimum. I mean how bad were his injuries that he got 3 purple hearts in 4 months? My uncle got one purple heart for getting shot by a machine gun and laying in a muddy shell crater for 2 days, during which time he was wounded several more times by shell fragments and had an infection that almost killed him. He had over 100 seperate holes in him, had to have the end of his penis removed due to wounds and infection and spent 8 months in the hospital recovering. Kerry's medals to months ratio has to be one of the highest in the history of the Vietnam conflict. It's surprising that we haven't heard more about him in history books.

That said I do agree with Pekka that he did his duty and risked his life regardless of whether more was made of his actions than is perhaps decent considering the often greater sacrifices of those who didn't have such an accomodating bureacracy above them. He certainly deserves more credit than G.W. Bush for his service, and lets not even talk about Clinton.

	04-08-2004 16:41									#24
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quote: Is it any wonder that less than half of them vote?

Actually, 51.3% voted in the last US Fed election. In Canada, 60% voted in the 2004 federal election, and it goes down every year. Considering we only have 30 million people, I'd say this difference isn't that great... when populations get bigger, less people vote, its just how it goes. Last time the US had 60% turnout, it had 120 million people in 1968. What does that say about us?

	04-08-2004 17:17									#25
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Well you know, seeing that the Kerry campaign has talked non-stop about his service in Vietnam, I don't see how it is wrong to discuss it publicily/offer alternative views.

	04-08-2004 17:30									#26
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So the Bushies can find some anti-Kerry veterans. Big deal. Fact is, Kerry's platoon buddy told a pretty harrowing tale at the DNC about how Kerry saved his life over in Vietnam. 3 PHs or not, that's still a heck of lot more than Bush has to offer.

One of the reasons that Americans like veterans in office is that they've offered to put it all on the line for their country. Sure, most of them never come close to being killed but they've made the committment none the less. It takes a certain amount of courage to do this and as such, it's a sacrifice worthy of respect.

	04-08-2004 17:34									#27
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quote: Originally posted by The Mad Monk Given how we (Americans) view those presidencies, I'm not certain how to take that.

That having been a successful military command doesn't say much about your suitability as president.

	04-08-2004 17:38									#28
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quote: Originally posted by Pekka Kerry hasn't blatantly lied, hey if he got self inflicted wounds, then he got them. So what?

	04-08-2004 17:45									#29
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That really is an unflattering picture of the man... he looks like Death, pointing straight at you.

	04-08-2004 17:53									#30
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And this book will have the same effect as all those utterly blatantly partisan books you see out there in the bookstore...0. Maybe closer to absolute 0. I mean, honestly, look at your local bookstore and the current events section- the invective is massive. Anyone who thinks this is anything more than just one more unheard voice in the tumult, is, well, nuts.

As for comparisons to Farenheit 911. That film has made 100 milion. at NYC prices, it still means 10 million viewings. I doubt seriously 10 million people will read this crap.