How desperate are the Democrats when confronted with Kerry’s possible lying nuance about Cambodia? Enough so to run this picture from the Yale yearbook showing Bush playing Rugby:
Our intrepid partisan then notes:
As long as we’re re-examining the 1960s, looking for signs of character, trying to decide if a man who volunteered for combat and was decorated five times was more or less courageous than a guy who didn’t even show up for his own medical exam… here’s George W. Bush during his college days, hitting a fellow sportsman in the face.
Bwahahaha. Sorry. I am laughing too hard to type. Bush was rough during rugby in college, so therefore questioning Kerry’s character is not important and he did not lie about anything in Vietnam. But then there is this:
Dem presidential candidate John Kerry called his secret service agent a “son of a bitch” after the agent inadvertently moved into his path during a ski mishap in Idaho, sending Kerry falling into the snow.
When asked a moment later about the incident by a reporter on the ski run, Kerry said sharply, “I don’t fall down,” the “son of a b*itch knocked me over.”
The Secret Service agent in question has complained about Kerry’s treatment, top sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.
And why does it matter so, Mr. Harris?
The point about Kerry’s Cambodia service is the context of his claim. He did not simply inflate his service record. He used the claim as a club to bludgeon supporters of Reagan’s Nicaragua policy. Nicaragua = Viet Nam. Reagan = Nixon. Support for the Contras = John Kerry sent to Cambodia by his duplicitous government. His indignation gave him not the moral high ground, but an amazing simulation. In 1986 that was all he needed to put defenders of Reagan’s policies on the defensive. If his claim to Cambodia service is false it reveals a particularly repugnant form of cynicism. If he can’t prove his claim, it speaks very badly indeed for his political character.
More from Q and O.
HH
Kerry – Lied about Vietnam service.
Bush – Was not nice during a rugby game.
Vote Kerry!
michael
…..And The man on the right represents Terrorism.
Kerry is probably on the sideline hitting on the cheerleader with the millionaire daddy.
Whose for symbolism now?
dylan
John Cole..as petty as this pissing contest is becoming, you are finally showing your colors. Defend! Draft Dodger punches fellow ivy leaguer in face. Vetran opponent uses flippant language when falling on slopes. All equal. Only in John Cole Knee jerk World. Must… grasp…at..straws…
Yerbuddy
Oh, c’mon, he isn’t punching anybody in the face! Look, his feet are off the ground. They seem to have been running in opposite directions and simply run into eachother and the picture is taken right after they sepearated. Any time you have an ‘action’ picture (esp. one of a rugby game for God’s sakes), it’s gonna be easy to find one that ‘shows’ in the still something that ain’t really happening.
capt joe
Only a computer nerd without any understanding of physical activity could come to Atrios conclusion.
What direction is george bush heading?
opposite to the direction facing
What are the position of his hips?
away from the direction of the hand he is “punching”
What direction is the other guy heading?
same direction he is facing
What is the other guy doing with his hand?
He is using his forearm to push Bush back.
With all these points made, let me propose a hypothesis.
Bush was trying to tackle the guy carrying the ball. The other guy wasted him by slamming him up into the air with a check.
What would the next picture show?
Bush lying on his ass on the ground. The other guy continuing to run down the field.
As a martial arts teacher, I can assure you that if that was a punch, then it would have no effect.
Geez Luise guys, get a grip. If you spent more time actually doing or watching sports and less time with moonbat conspiracies….
Slartibartfast
Punching is illegal in rugby? Could rugby players possibly take more damage if it weren’t?
More to the point, who gives a rat’s ass?
Steverino
“Vetran opponent uses flippant language when falling on slopes.”
More like, ‘Kerry calls man paid to take a bullet for him a son of a bitch’.
At the very least, what Kerry did was rude and classless.
Slartibartfast
I know this has already been beaten to death, but let’s not go overboard on this “son of a bitch” thing. If there’s a friend or brother of mine that I haven’t ever referred to like that, it’s probably an oversight. If it’s an unfriendly context, though, them’s usually fighting words.
TC-LeatherPenguin
I’ve seen pictures of Kerry geared up and trundling around an ice hockey rink. Is someone gonna tell me he’s never swung an elbow or some lumber in anger? Please.
If this is supposed to be the first wave of the “Get Rid of the Cambodia Debacle” gambit, somebody better rejigger the Kerry camp’s talking points, because this is pure friggin’ farce!
mark-o
Oh that GW, what a bully! Boo hoo.
Grant R.
I betcha Bush makes Rugby the theme of the RNC, and brings back his teammates (at least the ones that support him) as his “band of fraternity brothers.”
John Earnest
That’s a “sucker punch”? In rugby play? Face to face? Puncher bareheaded, punchee helmeted?
Having been the recipient of more than one true sucker punch (okay, I gave one in junior high, too) I can only say that what is depicted is missing several key distinguishing features. A “sucker punch” is a powerful but cowardly, balled-fist blow, delivered by surprise, taking the recipient unawares wuthout any chance to protect himself, and thus routinely incapacitates the victim. Only those people who have no idea what a punch is, or what rugby is, or who are seriously deluded, deaperately partisan or intellectually dishonest could think that remotely resembled a punch of any kind, much less a “sucker punch”.
Al Maviva
After playing rugger for roughly 20 years – could be a little more, could be a little less, we’ve lost some brain cells in that time period – I can say that Bush probably isn’t trying to punch this guy out. I think Captain Joe has it about correct – Bush goes right, ballcarrier goes left, Bush running fast goes for a high-ish tackle, ballcarrier ducks, Bush gets one arm around the ball carrier’s shoulders, tries to grip the upper jersey of the ballcarrier as he whips past.
Likely outcome – Bush on his ass over to the right, juking ball carrier running down the field off to the left.
It would be hard to call that a sucker punch – I have never seen anybody land a good punch, in rugby or elsewhere (yes, rugby players occasionally punch each other) with two feet off the ground. No leverage that way.
Considering Bush left Yale about a year before that photo turned up in the yearbook, the caption on that photo appears to about as accurate, as if I took the picture of Kerry’s cheezy salute at the Dems’ convention and captioned it “Kerry reporting for duty in Pnomh Penh”.
funhawg
George W. Bush sucker-punches an opponent from Yale.
“President Bush yesterday mocked John Kerry for trying to run as an anti-war candidate while agreeing Saddam Hussein should have been toppled even if he didn’t have weapons of mass destruction.”
nypost.com/news/nationalnews/26672.htm
“President Bush told supporters Tuesday that he had a new backer for his decision to invade Iraq: Senator John Kerry.”
nytimes.com/2004/08/11/politics/campaign/11bush.html?hp
Slartibartfast
Only minutes before it’s amended to “poorly executed sucker-punch”. Any takers?