I'm not going to go into the details of this whole debate here in this post. I will sum it up quickly. John Kerry used almost his entire convention in Boston to talk about his time in Vietnam. Soon after the close of the convention, some other veterans of the swift boats in Vietnam spoke out in criticism of Kerry's service. They formed a group known as Swift Vets for Truth. They've run a series of television ads that question the veracity of Kerry's version of what happened in several episodes during the war. They also raise questions about whether or not Kerry was actually deserving of at least one of his purple hearts. These same topics are also addressed in John O'Neil's book, Unfit for Command.
Kerry's campaign has chosen not to respond to the facts and acusations made by the Swift Vets. Instead, they have attempted to paint the Swift Vets as partisan political operators (as if that alone makes the accusations false). They have also called repeatedly on President Bush to ask that the ads be pulled from the air. Perhaps the most outrageous move of all has been the Kerry campaign's attempt to use lawsuits to take these ads off the air.
Many in the Kerry camp and many casual political observers have come out to question why any of this should even matter. They ask, "Why should we care what happened 30 years ago? We have modern problems to discuss."
Here is why it matters: John Kerry chose to make his four months in Vietnam the center piece of his campaign. The clear message from the Boston convention was that John Kerry's Vietnam service is his primary qualification for being Commander in Chief. Before and after the campaign, Kerry was running commercials that featured the images of fellow vets who oppose his candidacy despite their protestations. In addition, Kerry and Edwards have both said that if anyone questions Kerry's character then they should ask those who served with him in Vietnam. In short, Kerry has been running on the backs of the swift boat vets from Vietnam.
That being the case, how Kerry served while he was in Vietnam is a legitimate and important topic of discussion. If Kerry truly did serve honorably then he should welcome this discussion and refute the facts of the accusations. However, if Kerry did indeed lie to get medals in Vietnam then this speaks volumes about his character. If he is willing to lie about something like that, then what won't he lie about.
I certainly don't know what happened in Vietnam. But, I believe that the Swift Vets have a right to speak out about this topic. This debate is on a topic of Kerry's choosing. He should welcome the opportunity to discuss his service further.
