Kerry Questions Bush Attendance in Guard in 70's

[sangh0]

Kerry Questions Bush Attendance in Guard in 70's
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/27/politics/campaign/27CHEN.html?hp

"In a day of piercing and personal exchanges, John Kerry questioned on Monday whether President Bush skipped National Guard duty 30 years ago, while Vice President Dick Cheney disparaged Mr. Kerry as an opportunist unfit to lead the nation in wartime...

"This is a controversy that the Republicans are pushing," Mr. Kerry said on "Good Morning America" on ABC. "The Republicans have spent $60 million in the last few weeks trying to attack me, and this comes from a president and a Republican Party that can't even answer whether or not he showed up for duty in the National Guard. I'm not going to stand for it."

Later in the day, Mr. Kerry challenged what he called attacks on his military record from Republicans who did not fight in Vietnam.

"I did obviously fight in Vietnam, and I was wounded there, and I served there and was very proud of my service," Mr. Kerry said. "To have these people, all of whom made a different choice, attack me for it is obviously disturbing"...

[Cocoa]

1. interesting about the college's president

this thing backfiring on Dick in a number of ways...

It was Mr. Cheney's third speech attacking Mr. Kerry. His words on Monday were so sharp that the president of Westminster College, Fletcher M. Lamkin, sent out a notice to students and faculty chastising Mr. Cheney for the tone he set and promising to extend a similar invitation to Mr. Kerry.

"Frankly, I must admit that I was surprised and disappointed that Mr. Cheney chose to step off the high ground and resort to Kerry-bashing for a large portion of his speech," Mr. Lamkin said. "The content and tone of his speech was not provided to us prior to the event; we had only been told the speech would be about foreign policy, including issues in Iraq."

[PopSixSquish]

To All Those Who Think that Kerry Isn't Fighting Back

Please read this again and again. And send it to everyone you know!!!!!

Go Get 'Em Senator!!!!!!!

[LabMonkey]

2. total frustration

Does Kerry WANT to lose? What am I, some kind of genius
to see this? or too stupid to understand the game plan?
This is a total rehash from months ago.
The awol stuff is a proven non-issue to
swing voters. Been there, done that, didnt work.
He is accomplishing nothing with swing voters
with it. He stumbled with the bizarre medals/ribbons
explanation, now Joe and Jane sixpack are now saying "huh, he
threw away his medals?" He blew a golden opportunity to frame himself and put that issue to rest, now it will go on for weeks.
I think he has fallen into a trap, he keeps making
the same mistakes. He needs to LEAD. Take a stand
on issues and quit trying to please everyone and
stop directionless Bush bashing in tit for tat nonsense.
This is ridiculous, the poll numbers are overwhelming showing
him losing ground and he goes back to the awol stuff?
Swing voters are ALL that matter. PERIOD. Without them he
loses. He is not reaching out to them, not addressing issues
that scare them. At times he even seems to be adversarial to them and
handling questions very poorly by interpreting them as hostile to him when people just want to know more about him. EVERY question is an opportunity to educate the swing voters about him in a positive way. EVERY question. He is in combat mode I guess. But he is using
the wrong tactics, he is campaigning like he is running in Mass.
He needs to lead, quit bush bashing for the sake of it and LEAD.
He needs to take control and define himself. He is failing terribly at that now.

[Warren Stuart]

3. Carlos is that you? n/t

[LabMonkey]

8. ?

?

[Warren Stuart]

11. The rain in Spain, let's discuss

Does anyone know if it rains in Spain?

[Cocoa]

4. no

you're not some kind of genius. :-)

[LabMonkey]

6. Fine

Fine, what do you think is the problem then?

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LabMonkey]

7. not my friends

Something is off track, no?

[Sparkly]

9. So if you were Kerry or his campaign manager,

what would you have done? You say he should discuss issues (like he's not) -- but would you have just let the RNC have this topic without rebutting or even responding?

[LabMonkey]

13. response

Reposting my response to the other fellow.....


I think that he is not weak. He is simply not focused on what is key right now- Defining himself to the swing voters. He is letting himself be defined by someone elses arguments. He can rise above all this easily. By strong leadership. Vietnam, ribbons/medals, awol, cheney, None of these things will help him with the swing vote.
Bush is very strong in LEADING the way. That is a fact. It is irrelevant where he leads for my argument at this point ok? HE LEADS. Kerry must counter this in same by LEADING. Drop all this tit for tat nononsense and quit letting them define the battleground.
He needs to take the risks now, How? examples...........
WE will pull out of IRAQ and persue Al Queda. none of this UN nonsense, none of this I would have done it different. We will pull out. He must be strong on fighting terrorism though, the swing voters are SCARED. They NEED to feel protected.
Gay marriage is another good example. HEs for it, HE should support it. Not, oh well let the states decide.
Abortion, Why is he doing this silly dance with the catholics?
Again, LEAD, He supports pro-choice. Why kiss up to the church?

Risky positions? YES! hell yes, but thats what he needs to do to
win.

Because whatever the game plan is now? I dont have a clue.

[texas1928]

10. And

If he had not responded you and others would be saying he did not do enough. The guy can not win. He does not say anything and people are all over him as being weak, but he does say something and now people are all over him cause he should just drop it.

Well he upped the ante on the republicans, he released his records, so now we can see what he did and how he was wounded. We can see he serverd out his tour of duty. Now the republicans have to step up and release Bush's records.

I think he did the right thing. Rove wants to make this an issue so that people have their attention on this instead of other issues that are more important. With Kerry releasing his records he has said to the Republicans "there take that, prove me wrong."

[LabMonkey]

12. Swing votes are everything!

I think that he is not weak. He is simply not focused on what is key right now- Defining himself to the swing voters. He is letting himself be defined by someone elses arguments. He can rise above all this easily. By strong leadership. Vietnam, ribbons/medals, awol, cheney, None of these things will help him with the swing vote.
Bush is very strong in LEADING the way. That is a fact. It is irrelevant where he leads for my argument at this point ok? HE LEADS. Kerry must counter this in same by LEADING. Drop all this tit for tat nononsense and quit letting them define the battleground.
He needs to take the risks now, How? examples...........
WE will pull out of IRAQ and persue Al Queda. none of this UN nonsense, none of this I would have done it different. We will pull out. He must be strong on fighting terrorism though, the swing voters are SCARED. They NEED to feel protected.
Gay marriage is another good example. HEs for it, HE should support it. Not, oh well let the states decide.
Abortion, Why is he doing this silly dance with the catholics?
Again, LEAD, He supports pro-choice. Why kiss up to the church?

Risky positions? YES! hell yes, but thats what he needs to do to
win.

Because whatever the game plan is now? I dont have a clue.

[Warren Stuart]

15. What about Canadian bacon?

C'mon Carlos let's discuss Canadian bacon.

[sangh0]

16. Don't like it

I hear that's why the PNAC wanted to invade Iraq

It's a war for Canadian bacon

[mouse7]

19. Or Diebold BBV?

Hmmm... California decertified those Diebold machines. That's must have warped the old reality matrix, huh?

[texas1928]

17. It is fine to address the issues.

"WE will pull out of IRAQ and pursue Al Queda. none of this UN nonsense, none of this I would have done it different. We will pull out. He must be strong on fighting terrorism though, the swing voters are SCARED. They NEED to feel protected."

We can not pull out of Iraq, we are in this little debacle until someone can come up with an exit plan. Kerry needs to show what his exit plan is, we have to rebuild our relationship with the world. To sit there and say pull out, that is not just wrong but it would be international suicide for the US. If we did that the other countries of the world would turn against us. Kerry has to come out with a, this is what we are going to do about Iraq, that is suitable for American and world interests. Pulling out is not the answer.

Gay marriage is another good example. He's for it, HE should support it. Not, oh well let the states decide.

Correcting me if I am wrong, but when a couple gets married they do not file their marriage license with the Federal government. They file with the state in the county they are marrying in. The Constitution only states each state will recognize the marriage license of other states. So how is this a federal issue? The states have to decide are we going to allow it and are we going to recognize other states who do. I don't see how this issue is going to put 2.7 million people back to work. Or, keep my children from having a huge deficit to pay.

Abortion, Why is he doing this silly dance with the catholics?
Again, LEAD, He supports pro-choice. Why kiss up to the church?

Kerry, needs to just make it clear, He is running for president. and in the oath he has to take when he wins, it says "defend the constitution and the laws of the United States". OK. 1. Roe vs. Wade says abortion is legal. until it is overturned that is the law He will defend. If he sees fit to address this with a push to change the law he can when he is in office. 2. The Constitution of the United States, has a provision in it that says Division of Church and State. Kerry needs to tell special interests groups that a church can not influence or dictate laws in this country. I believe in god, and I am a christian, but I do not look to my pastor for advice on what my wife should do with her body, it is not my place or anyone else's to tell a woman "you can not do that to your body." I also do not look to my pastor for advice on who to vote for.

the last two issues are not that important, Iraq is totally something this country has to address. We have to fix this mess. Kerry needs to come at the Republicans with hard facts and numbers, show why the republicans have failed and why he can succeed. And when the republicans want to play mind games, he needs to address the issue with hard facts that can not be refuted and move on. If he shows his metal and sticks to his guns and does not let them divert the attention away from the issues at hand. then he will be leading. If he just ignores the republicans then the swing voters are not going to hear his side of the issues and go republican. it is that simple.

[Zorra]

14. Bu$h was AWOL. A-W-O-L. Possibly a DESERTER. Now that

the republicans have brought up the question of Kerry's military service, they have re-opened a huge can of worms for themselves.

It is time to get to the bottom of this issue.

Answer the question in the light of day, Mr. Resident:

Why did you not show up for duty in the National Guard for a period of one year and possibly more during 1972-73, and what exactly were you doing at this time?

A comparison of Kerry-Bu$h military records.

http://www.awolbush.com/kerry-vs-bush.asp

Info from awolbush.com

http://www.awolbush.com/

[tedzbear]

18. You go, Kerry!

Slam them hard and then knock them down when they try to get up! You MUST not let this insult stand for one second. Every day until November you must remind the nation that Bush and Cheney willfully dodged Viet-nam while you served proudly and almost got killed doing it.

[balanced]

20. Why can't surrogates say that Bush and Cheney are

chicken shits? They are not fit to lead a country in war because they chose to "sit out" the war in Vietnam.

Kerry can't say this--could he?

Maybe Kerry could put it a little gentler: Bush and Cheney chose a way of serving which virtually guaranteed that they would not go in harm's way. Of course, a chicken shit by any other name...

Most of my friends were conscientious objectors during Vietnam. I remember, fondly, the days of Nixon's secret service assholes when you knew your license plate number would end up on the secret service's list when you went to a meeting of The United Front to End the War or if you provided food for the protestors at Wounded Knee or whatever. But my friends didn't pretend to be warriors like Bush and Cheney.