Killer Kerry

Good to know our future president knows how to kill people. Handy skill in a commander in chief.

Comments

[ANON]

Your point?

[Don Myers]

In 1992 Bob Kerrey (he's on the 9/11 Commission these days) was sending up some Presidential trial ballons, and his service record came out. He'd been a Special Forces Ranger...and assassin, like Martin Sheen in "Apocalyce Now." He had something like 10 confirmed kills WITH HIS BARE HANDS.

I thought that this was a big point in his favor. I imagined him across the table with the Speaker of the House trying to get some bill out of committee, and casually mentioning that he knows seven ways to use the palm of his hand to drive the cartilage in the Speaker's nose into the Speaker's brain, killing him instantly. Just drop it into the conversation....

[Carpenter]

Yeah, I was thinking that this may be just the thing to convince Congress that it's time to repeal DOMA and get going on universal health care.

[larkspur]

We asked him to go there. Even those of us who opposed the war benefit in general from the military. If we have to forgive what he did, we have to allow him to forgive us for sending him there and making him do it.

[brooke]

OK, I just posted it because something about it struck me as odd. Now I realize what it was - I just don't get why Kerry's "heroism" in smoking some humans is helping his campaign way more than his heroism in standing against the war as a decorated veteran.

[Carpenter]

Two reasons:

1) Most Americans are taught that by definition, "heroism" is limited to physical bravery. Rescuing people from explosions is heroic, as is shooting bad guys to save the platoon. Testifying before Congress is way less than heroic to most of our countrymen; in fact, it's downright boring.

2) Saving people in battle = popularly viewed as good thing to do.
Protesting government = not so much.

[larkspur]

"...I just don't get why Kerry's "heroism" in smoking some humans is helping his campaign way more than his heroism in standing against the war as a decorated veteran..."

Of course you have an excellent point. But more than anything, this strikes me as yet another example of how the press corps premasticates the news. Most of us can chew on something pretty well all by ourselves. I know how I feel about heroism, and what constitutes an heroic act. For me, Kerry's campaign is not helped by smarmy-toned recitations no matter what the source.

So we've got a couple of issues here. One is Kerry's military record. Another is the pre-election packaging of Kerry's military record, and how each side *and* the media will manage to use it to support a party line.

[upyernoz]

it seems to me that our society is slowly adopting the conservative line on vietnam. whenever someone's war record comes up it is not viewed in the context of an illegal slaughter of vietnamese who were fighting for their independence. instead everyone seems to assume that the right thing to do was going to war. even liberals are getting into the act, thanks to the draft dodging past of bush, rove, and other republicans, and the alleged heroism of kerry in battle.

personally, i didn't think kerry got heroic until he came home and told everyone how wrong the war was. but even kerry's current presidential campaign seems to have forgotten his earlier message

[SUCKA]

Ha. Vietnam is definitely the most unpopular war in American history, or world history, or fictional history, and every other history. Kerry didn't have a choice when it came to killing people. They do things to soldiers; nasty things. I find it amazing he overcame that and is actually running for president; quite competently at that. Being a killer is shameful for everybody, but being a mindless killer, a shameless killer, is void of compassion. Kerry's beyond that now.

[SUCKA]

Ha. Vietnam is definitely the most unpopular war in American history, or world history, or fictional history, and every other history. Kerry didn't have a choice when it came to killing people. They do things to soldiers; nasty things. I find it amazing he overcame that and is actually running for president; quite competently at that. Being a killer is shameful for everybody, but being a mindless killer, a shameless killer, is void of compassion. Kerry's beyond that now.

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