Kerry’s military records show a highly praised officer
NY Times: AP: ‘Kerry traveled throughout Europe in his youth and spoke fluent French and some German. His supervising officer later commended him for taking it upon himself to learn Vietnamese.’ [→ READ ]
The best part about John Kerry releasing his military records today is that he did so to silence the Republicans who were hounding him. Nothing show-off about it. Their plan seems not to have been wise: Mr. Kerry’s record, when lined up alongside Mr. Bush’s near-lack of same, paints a rather stark contrast between character/heroism and … something else.
Records of John Kerry’s Vietnam War service released Wednesday show a highly praised naval officer with an Ivy League education who spoke fluent French and had raced sailboats — the fruits of a privileged upbringing that set him apart from the typical seaman.
With Republicans questioning his service in Vietnam, the Democratic candidate for president posted more than 120 pages of military records on his campaign Web site. Several describe him as a gutsy commander undertaking a dangerous assignment in Vietnam and detail some of the actions that won three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star.
I may never be able to be excited about John Kerry, but the fact that he’s (1) intelligent and (2) has a real depth of character lets me rest easy that defense decisions he makes as president — whether or not I can agree fully with them — will be informed both by intelligently-parsed intelligence and plenty of experiential wisdom.
Thank you. Sir.
[via Daily Kos]
![[Creative Commons logo]](/images/ccLogo.gif){kind=small}