What do George Bush, Al Gore, and John McCain all have in common? Well, two things, it appears.
First, none of them has ever run a political campaign for national office in which their core platform was their military service.
Second, even thogh they didn’t need to, all of them signed Standard Form 180, authorizing the government to release all available records.
John Kerry, on the other hand, who has based his entire campaign for election on his four months in Vietnam, refuses to execute the standard form.
Why?
He refuses to run on his record, and we are only allowed to know what he wants us to know about his military service. Anything else is questioning his patriotism, and he will not have that.
Dave Schuler
On a subject related to this post you might be interested in my post contrasting the Kerry campaign with the last presidential campaign in wartime in which the candidate ran solely on his military record: the Eisenhower campaign in 1952.
Harlan Pepper
Kampaign Kerry has been assured the MSM won’t press the issue.
BigFire
Well, as many have speculated (hey, without further evidence, that’s all we can do), John Kerry sleepwalks during his days in the service. That would’ve been in his medical record. But that’s just speculation.
Don
If the MSM was unbias, this election would have been over months ago…or, the Dems would have been forced to put up another candidate.
CadilaqJaq
In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhowewr did NOT have 30 years experience in legislative government such as Kerry does today; Ike had a 5-star life time career in the military, NOT a mere 4 months and 12 days such as Kerry had in Vietnam.
What other comparisons are there? Zip. IMO, to even compare Kerry and Ike in the same paragraph is near sacriligious.
It’s still curious why Kerry chooses to think his brief Vietnam tour trumps his decades served in elected office; maybe because he has no worthwhile record there?
Tongue Boy
Is there another source backing the contention that Bush signed his Form 180? My understanding it that he has authorized the release of all his TANG records using his authority as C-in-C, not through execution of a 180 (no pun intended). It amounts to the same thing for all practical purposes so I don’t want this question to be interpreted as questioning Bush’s honesty, integrity, etc. It’s just that it is *so* important to get the little details correct what with all the blood-sucking moonbats hovering so close these days. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to get bit.
Clang
What Tongue Boy said: I don’t think Bush signed the Form 180 either, which is why he isn’t pressing Kerry to do so.
Clang
CadillaqJaq: Kerry’s military career lasted quite a bit longer than four months and 12 days. Don’t repeat everything the right-wingers tell you without checking the facts.
Dodd
I’m with Tongue and Clanq – I am under the impression that Bush did not, in fact, sign an SF-180 but, rather, used his authority as CinC to order the release of all his own records. It’s purely a matter of form, not substance, but you know how the left-wing opposition is about dangling participles these days.
kelly
Clang,
Kerry’s military career lasted longer than four months? Are you sure? Absolutely sure? Because listening to the Kerry himself drone on about ‘Nam, I was under the impression that was all there was. How odd.
Oh, wait a minute, I’m sorry. I DO remember him still being in the Navy when he went to Paris and met the North Vietnamese while we still had troops in country. The traitorous scumbag.
Josh Martin
John Kerry was also an officer in the US Navy when he attended a meeting at which the assassination of US Senators was debated.
Steverino
Clang and Dodd, I believe Bush signed Form 180 in February. I’m still looking for a link, there’s a lot of chaff to sift through.
Clang
kelly,
“Kerry’s military career lasted longer than four months? Are you sure? Absolutely sure?”
Yep.
CadillaqJaq
Clang, I hate to be picky, but Kerry’s gunner’s mate, a Steven Gardner, the guy on the twin 50-caliber machine guns, asserted publicly that Kerry’s VIETNAM tour was 4 months and 12 days… in my post I twice referred to Kerry’s Vietnam TOUR, NOT his entire career. The post is still up there if you care to read it again.
Words a such a puzzle at times. Losing the point of the debate is easy as well… comparing Kerry to Ike is a joke. That was my point.
Bloggerhead
Criminy, John, what with all the wingnut triumphalism about putting the MSM in it’s place on the strength of the Great Kerning Debate of ’04, you seriously link in the same spirit to a muckraking stalk-site–to a post entitled “The Evil Within,” no less–to establish as fact that which is demonstrably not true.
Bush has never signed a Form 180. He has relied instead on the flamboyant, but much less focused, use of a presidential authorization to release all his records. Of course, he has claimed on at least three prior occasions to have released everything related to his service, so that should tell you something about his credibility regarding getting this information out there (especially in light of the necessity of several subsequent FOIA requests made in order to fill-in gaping holes in the record, which remain still.)
Clang
CadillaqJaq, I hate to be picky, but first of all, four months and twelve days is of course longer than four months. Duh.
Second, when you refer to Kerry’s Vietnam TOUR, which one are you referring to? You are aware that he had more than one, no?
Words are such a puzzle at times.
Clang
“It’s still curious why Kerry chooses to think his brief Vietnam tour trumps his decades served in elected office; maybe because he has no worthwhile record there?”
See here for a good example: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0409.sirota.html
Steverino
Second, when you refer to Kerry’s Vietnam TOUR, which one are you referring to? You are aware that he had more than one, no?
No, he didn’t. He had two tours of duty, but the first wasn’t in Vietnam. It was on the Gridley, and that ship was stationed well off the coast of southeast Asia.
I stand corrected about the Form 180. Bush apparently did sign an Executive Order to release his service data. Short of digging through the archives himself, what else was Bush supposed to do?
Many of the records that turned up recently were mislabeled, misfiled, or erroneously thought destroyed. I suppose that’s Bush’s fault?
dhermesc
One area that hasn’t generated much buzz – yet: What about Kerry’s reserve duty records? After he bugged out of active duty years before his hitch was up (special favors anyone?) he was supposed to serve in the active reserve for three (?) years. As of this point no one claims to have seen Kerry at any of HIS drills, or even said what unit he was assigned to during 1971 and 1972. Kerry, who should have been discharged from the Navy about the same time — July 1, 1972 — wasn’t given the discharge he has on his campaign Web site until July 13, 1978. What delayed the discharge for six years? This raises serious questions about Kerry’s performance while in the reserves that are far more potentially damaging than those raised against Bush. Wonder when Dan Rather is going to get to that story?
Clang
What is it with you and trying to reduce John Kerry’s military career to just the time he was in Vietnam?
You started out by saying: ” Ike had a 5-star life time career in the military, NOT a mere 4 months and 12 days such as Kerry had in Vietnam.”
Kerry served more than four months, and you know it.
“Short of digging through the archives himself, what else was Bush supposed to do?”
Sign the Form 180.
“Many of the records that turned up recently were mislabeled, misfiled, or erroneously thought destroyed. I suppose that’s Bush’s fault?”
Nope. As for the ones that didn’t turn up… we don’t know.
Les Jones
Bush signed an executive order, not a 180, according to WizBang. And his records keep turning up, with more rumored from the White House soon.
cameron
Bush has not signed a SF180.
That is why the AP had to sue to get records released under FOIA.
It’s moot anyway…..the WH said back in February that all the records have been released.
They wouldn’t lie about that….would they?
Jim Ausman
Another embarassing lie by Chief Dittohead Rush Limbaugh.
Of course, you will never see the Republicans here admit that they were wrong because that would be “showing weakness.”
What a bunch of brainwashed dopes.