SwiftVets.com

[Ohio Voter]

I caught part of Bill Bennett on Hannity and Colmbs but I can't find the source of a Kerry quote or story he was talking about. I was hoping someone here can explain what Bennett meant.

Bennett said, Kerry said he thought it advantageous to be against the VN war but to be a war hero at the same time. Then Bennett said, "Who thinks like that?"

I am looking for the context of what Bennett said about Kerry's motives and the quote so I can understand what Kerry said and when he said it. I think he was talking about Kerry's strategy to achieve his political career goals.

Sorry I can't ask a better worded question since I don't fully understand what Bennett was talking aobut.

[ohanakat]

Not positive of this, but I think Bennett was summarizing the actions of Mr. Kerry, not quoting anything he said specifically. His actions suggest that he is attempting to be seen as a war hero and an anti-war hero at the same time. While it might be possible, Bennett is saying that most folks (especially with the hindsight of 30+ years) would pick one and live with the consequences. By now, it would seem that he should know whether he is in fact, a war hero or an anti-war hero. If the former, he would clearly and plainly denounce all of his actions after he returned from VN. If the latter, his "valor" is not an issue. It's the usual flip flop, taken to extreme.

At least that's my take on it. could be wrong.

Kat

[Jette]

Bennett was talking about an interview Kerry gave to David Broder of the Washington Post. Here's Broder's take on it with a link to his entire article:

Having lived with that legacy since the start of his political career, Kerry may be judged naive to have thought that Vietnam would be a golden credential for the presidency -- and not an inevitable source of controversy. When he chose to make his Navy combat in Vietnam the principal metaphor for his dedication to public service and the proof of his toughness in a time of terrorism, he might have guessed that the skeptics would not remain silent. In a 2002 conversation, Kerry told me he thought it would be doubly advantageous that "I fought in Vietnam and I also fought against the Vietnam War," apparently not recognizing that some would see far too much political calculation in such a bifurcated record.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27207-2004Aug23.html

To understand even further...

Boston Globe, 6/16/2003: ........"I didn't really want to get involved in the war," Kerry said in a little-noticed contribution to a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. "When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing."......... But two weeks after he arrived in Vietnam, the swift boat mission changed -- and Kerry went from having one of the safest assignments in the escalating conflict to one of the most dangerous.
Boston Globe, 6/16/2003: ......... He requested and was granted a transfer out of Vietnam six months before his combat tour was slated to end on the grounds that he had earned three Purple Hearts. None of his wounds was disabling; he said one cost him two days of service and the other two did not lead to any absence. .........The bottom line is that Kerry could have remained but he chose to seek an early transfer.

Observation: Kerry was against the war, period. No ifs, ands or buts about it. His commencement speech, given in 1966 (Yale) was an anti-war speech. He requested a deferment but was denied. In order to "credential" himself as an anti-war activist, he had to establish credibility for himself, much the same way a reporter will go "undercover" so that he or she can better report on a story. Kerry was an embedded anti-war activist, gathering that credibility, so that he could come back and then mount an anti-war effort. Listen to him then, and listen to him now. Look at his circle of friends then, look at them now. Look at his political supporters then, look at them now. How much has really changed? Worst of all, Kerry, through his surrogates has unequivocally stated that he stands by his 1971 testimony.

[Ohio Voter]

That is it, thanks for the explination and additional info.

[quote="Jette"]Bennett was talking about an interview Kerry gave to David Broder of the Washington Post. Here's Broder's take on it with a link to his entire article:

Having lived with that legacy since the start of his political career, Kerry may be judged naive to have thought that Vietnam would be a golden credential for the presidency -- and not an inevitable source of controversy. When he chose to make his Navy combat in Vietnam the principal metaphor for his dedication to public service and the proof of his toughness in a time of terrorism, he might have guessed that the skeptics would not remain silent. In a 2002 conversation, Kerry told me he thought it would be doubly advantageous that "I fought in Vietnam and I also fought against the Vietnam War," apparently not recognizing that some would see far too much political calculation in such a bifurcated record.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27207-2004Aug23.html

[d19thdoc]

What most people don't understand who were not there or who have not studied the Vietnam era, is that Kerry was overtaken by history. When he joined the Navy, two things were true that ceased to be true later: 1 - the Vietnam war had wide popular support; and, 2 - voluntering for duty in the Navy was seen by some as an honorable way to avoid combat duty (sorry Navy guys, but it's true). The very charge he now levels at Bush's ANG duty. Another outrageous hypocrisy. The only Navy personnel who were in harm's way were SEALS, pilots and air crew, and later, patrol boat crews - all requiring exceptional qualifications and/or volunteering. Kerry wanted his fantasy of JFK II and service was the only road to take. When he volunteered for Swift Boat duty, the swifts were doing relatively tame coastal patrol. That changed shortly after he joined swifts. Then he wanted out, or his dream of gracing a $20 bill in a hundred years might die at the bottom of some obscure canal in the Mekong Delta. Later, when the tide of public opinion really turned against the war, he turned with it, then sought to lead it. It was all political calculation. One needs to understand that this guy does not think like normal people. What he thinks is, if he thinks it, then it must be perfectly OK.
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