Kerry at College

“The nation that will insist on drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking done by cowards.”
Sir William Butler

John Kerry seems to think otherwise. If he had made the statement in isolation, it could be considered a singular gaffe in an otherwise mediocre political career.

Study Hard Video

Certainly the statement can be interpreted in more than one way. Superficially he seems to be indicating that smart people don’t fight for their country. Smart people find ways to avoid wars and patriotism and honor and inconvenience. Get educated, work hard, marry well and you can be comfortable while the less gifted intellectually go and do your heavy lifting for you. That’s the way some could take his statement. If taken that way, he has insulted the American fighting men and women once again.

Or maybe he’s just the world’s worst stand-up comic. Things that he thinks are going to be charming and funny aren’t really. If that were the case it would be easy for him to simply say, “gosh folks, I misjudged the impact of my remarks and I really didn’t mean to offend you all because you know I’m a great supporter of our fighting men and women.” That wouldn’t be all that hard. John McCain, whose courage and commitment to the military can’t be questioned, suggested that an apology might be in order. He spoke softly and slowly so as to insure that it didn’t become some sort of heated campaign rhetoric. But Senator Kerry has been adamant in refusing to apologize.

Maybe there’s more to it. We might recall his Senate testimony so many years ago when he accused as all, each and every military man serving his country in an unpopular war, of being war criminals—murderers, thugs, rapists, sadists, criminals. I certainly recall it. Every Vietnam veteran should remember it.

Or possibly we could replay his more recent comments in which he again characterized American soldiers, in harm’s way, of being murderers, terrorists and rapists. If he said it once, albeit in a very public forum, it might be excused as the emotional outburst of someone deeply troubled about the morality of war. But he said it again, thirty years later, now as a US Senator in describing our troops in Iraq. It could only be because he feels very deeply about the assertion. It could only be because he believes it and wants everyone else to believe it as well. If so, he is seriously deluded and his efforts could be considered distinctly treasonous.

Certainly he has recently seemed eager to don the mantle of combat veteran and war hero. He jumps at any opportunity to point out lack of service in those who speak out against his positions.

How Many Strikes Does He Get?

Or, he could be slamming the administration and once again alluding to some level of intellectual superiority over the President. It’s a horse that the Democrats seem all too eager to ride. Recall the alleged intellectual superiority of Al Gore, divinity school drop-out. And Kerry’s own regular flaunting of his education. But now his home town newspaper provides this insight into the Senator’s comparative performance. It appears that two students in the same Ivy League university had similar academic achievements. In fact, it appears to this observer that the President even edged out the Senator in terms of scores across the board.

Learning From Experience?

What does it mean? To me it means that John Kerry still holds the military in exceptionally low esteem. He still views himself as somewhat superior to the masses. He still wants us to think he’s a hero, but he simultaneously wants to paint all of the other folks who serve unstintingly in the far and dangerous reaches of this world as some sort of Neanderthal criminals.

I’ve known for a long time what kind of man John Kerry is. I know many of the folks who risked a lot to be public figures in support of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. I know that American troops are well trained, honorable, courageous and most emphatically not lacking in intellectual capacity. I know that increasingly I detest John Kerry for having the audacity to do and say the things that he does. And, I fear for the Republic if his like should be in control of the reins of our government.