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Thursday, August 19, 2004

Kerry throws Bush and the Vets to the ice

Well, not exactly.  In fact, he didn’t even mention hockey once-- the sport’s too furrin, I guess.  He actually opened with “more than thirty years ago, I learned an important lesson-- when you’re under attack, the best thing to do is turn your boat into the attacker. That’s what I intend to do today.” This suggests he’s been reading Kenneth Baer’s timely advice ("as Kerry discovered more than three decades ago, sometimes the only way to survive an attack is to steer straight into enemy fire") rather than mine.  But I suppose that’s all right.  What’s important is the thought.  And it’s a good thought.

More than thirty years ago, I learned an important lesson-- when you’re under attack, the best thing to do is turn your boat into the attacker. That’s what I intend to do today.

Over the last week or so, a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has been attacking me. Of course, this group isn’t interested in the truth-- and they’re not telling the truth. They didn’t even exist until I won the nomination for president.

But here’s what you really need to know about them.  They’re funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Republican contributor out of Texas. They’re a front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the President won’t denounce what they’re up to tells you everything you need to know-- he wants them to do his dirty work.

I like that part.  Now that’s why Kerry denounced moveon’s reply ad, folks-- so that he could take the case directly to Mr. Bush.

Thirty years ago, official Navy reports documented my service in Vietnam and awarded me the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Thirty years ago, this was the plain truth. It still is. And I still carry the shrapnel in my leg from a wound in Vietnam.

As firefighters you risk your lives everyday. You know what it’s like to see the truth in the moment. You’re proud of what you’ve done-- and so am I.

And that’s why I hold Life and Death in my hands like a savage gift . . . no, wait, he didn’t say that.  Sorry.  I got carried away.

Of course, the President keeps telling people he would never question my service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded attack group does just that. Well, if he wants to have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: “Bring it on.”

Oh, not “bring it on” again.  But I like the touch of “our service in Vietnam.” That would be a really short debate.  Sort of like a “debate” about how many Senators’ lives “we” saved by using the Heimlich maneuver.

I’m not going to let anyone question my commitment to defending America-- then, now, or ever.  And I’m not going to let anyone attack the sacrifice and courage of the men who saw battle with me.

That was what we wanted to hear, big John.  And remember, George Bush has to wear high heels just to look you directly in the eye.

And let me make this commitment today:  their lies about my record will not stop me from fighting for jobs, health care, and our security? the issues that really matter to the American people.

The situation in Iraq is a mess. That is the President’s responsibility and he owes the American people an answer.

Good, now we’ve moved away from answering hypothetical questions about that ludicrous Senate vote two years ago, and we’re saying direct things about Iraq with simple syntax.  Kerry’s staff really are reading the lefty blogs, aren’t they?  Good for them.

America is on track to lose more jobs than it’s gained under George Bush and he supports a tax code that rewards companies for shipping jobs overseas.  He owes the American people an answer.

Health care costs have exploded out of control. The President has done nothing and he owes the American people an answer.

The middle class is paying a bigger share of America’s tax burden. The President needs to answer to the American people why that is fair.

Unfortunately, those in the White House are coming from a different place than you and I.  They see things a little differently than you and I.  They tell us that today, when it comes to the issues that matter most, we’re getting the job done.

Great.  Now say it again, fifty or sixty times, in Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Colorado, New Mexico, and-- just to keep up the forechecking-- Virginia and Tennessee.

Thanks to Atrios for the link and the heads-up.

ADDENDUM:  Those of you interested more in matters of Kerry’s statecraft than in the hurlyburly of rhetorical posturing are kindly invited to read this timely item by David Sirota and Jonathan Baskin.  On Kerry’s takedown of BCCI, which involved the big guy throwing an entire financial institution to the ice.

Posted by Michael on 08/19 at 07:30 AM
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