SwiftVets.com

[Jeff Carrington]

My wife who might have been a field general in a prior life--she's a high school teacher in this one--came up with something brilliant in its simplicity and brevity (I'm biased but still). Laying it out takes a lot longer than the delivery of the actual counter which is simple and powerful "pop logic" I think, anyway bear with me for a moment if you would.

1. The JK camp is dismayed at the persistent and loud focus on SBVT which is drowning out their talking points. Now desperate to upset that gyroscope and run back to domestic issues where they think they can spout the usual horse____ and make hay (good mixed metaphor there, my wife the English teacher just marked me down).

2. Consequently they want to say anything that will squelch or at least shrink the JFK Vietnam and post--Vietnam topics, 35 years ago, fog of war and all that, anyway it will never be resolved and we have to MOVE ON

3. Last couple of days I have actually heard several JK people grudgingly concede that the SBVT controversy is hurting JK with the veterans. . . . polls show a marked decline in his approval with that block, "BUT. . . .(pick your favorite obfuscation)


OK HERE'S THE COUNTER

1. “Other domestic issues are obviously very important, but let’s bottom-line it here and now: you have to be breathing before you can (a) eat, (b) find a new job, (c) get medical insurance. . . .Americans are smart enough to figure that out so that's why security and the war on terrorism is the #1 issue in all surveys. . . .”

2. As you have heard not even JK disputes that his support among veterans is sinking like a stone

3. Veterans=a pretty reliable proxy for the active and reserve U.S. military, no?

4. Can we really afford a CIC whose approval rating with the troops on the ground is going down the tubes? What happens when a team doesn't believe in the coach anymore? Almost always means a losing season. A losing season in the war on terror is unthinkable, our whole way of life is at stake.

5. JK record during and immediately after Vietnam has everything to do with his credibilty and hence, likely command effectiveness with the military. The military has everything to do with our security. So security is far and away the #1 issue we face in this election. That's why its CRITICAL TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF ALL THE JK VIETNAM ISSUES, ball is right in his court he can expedite this matter by releasing all military records and journals etc. etc. Only then can we “MOVE ON”. Otherwise this wound can only continue to fester. . . .

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The counter- could be delivered in a few short and direct sentences linked to facts not in dispute. I guess the reason I like it so much is the sports analogy which would be intuitive with almost all people, really helps compress the logic of the argument into an easily-retained essence. “Fire the coach not the team”. God forbid hiring him in the first place, so “Let’s not hire a losing coach”.