Maybe now they will stop whining. Read this editorial and let it sink in. In particular, pay attention to these two paragraphs:
On one level, there’s nothing wrong with chewing over the history and the biographies. Choices each candidate made along the way can tell voters something about the candidate’s character, and character is partly shaped by youthful experiences. Besides, if Mr. Kerry wants to base his candidacy in part on his wartime service, as he is entitled to do, then it’s fair for his opponents to inquire into the totality of his record, both in Vietnam and as a protester after his return…
That’s why the Kerry campaign’s response to Mr. Cheney’s speech this week was so inadequate. In his address in Fulton, Mo., Mr. Cheney was unsparing in his criticism of Mr. Kerry, but his line of attack had nothing to do with Vietnam. Rather, Mr. Cheney questioned Mr. Kerry’s record on defense and foreign policy, asserting that he “has given us ample grounds to doubt the judgment and the attitude he brings to bear on vital issues of national security.” Some of his points were unfair; for instance, Mr. Kerry’s proposed cuts in the intelligence budget a decade ago aren’t evidence, as Mr. Cheney would have it, of a “deeply irresponsible” attitude toward funding the war on terrorism. But the vice president’s recitation of what he termed Mr. Kerry’s “inconsistencies and changing rationales” on Iraq, from the Persian Gulf War to the present, gets to the heart of what this campaign needs to be about: America’s place in the world, the right and wrong times to use force and similar weighty questions. Recalling Mr. Cheney’s multiple draft deferments isn’t a rebuttal; both campaigns need to engage on the merits.
I undertsand that attaining victim status is the ultimate goal for every Democrats, and given Kerry’s record, I understand why he would not want to discuss his plethora of positioins on every issue, but really- once the Washington Post calls you to the carpet, sin’t it time to re-think your strategy?
StuckInOregon
I hear the slow and unmistakable sound of some ones hopes for the presidency slowly imploding like a russian submarine at chrush depth. The real problem with it all, is that he has managed to do it to himself with out the help of the Republicans. He should have just stayed with talking the issue and not trying to tell the world how great a hero he could have been. Alot of us independents look very carefully at what is being said and when you build your campaign on “Bush is EVIL and big poopyhead” you aren’t going to do real good. Especially when you have nut jobs working on your behalf. Especially Al “Ofaking” Franken, Micheal Moore, where even the people that work with him say he is a pompous a-hole. The rest of cliche Hollywierd Crowd. If I was runing on teh Democratic Ticket that crew would be held at arms lenght. Especially all teh web based orgs, that have cropped up to help him out back by the WE HATE BUSH league. So let the death dirge begin.