An Editorial by Matt Hurley
By now, everyone knows that the Swift Veterans for Truth have released a television ad that is very scathing in its charaterization of Democratic presidential nominee, John F. Kerry. And everyone should also know that the DNC has threatened station managers with legal action if they choose to allow the airing of the ad.
So what's the big deal? Really. Afterall, shouldn't we be more concerned with the war we are currently engaged in over a war that happened thirty years ago? My answer is yes and no. (No surprise really!) The main issue of this presidential campaign has got to be national security. Anything else would do a disservice to the American people. So, yes, that should be the priority. Kerry and the Democrats opened the door for criticism when they made VIETNAM! the center of focus of Kerry's campaign. When a guy's first action is a salute and "Reporting for duty" in the acceptance speech, you have to expect a challenge.
The guys have what appears to be a legitimate gripe with John Kerry. And those complaints should receive every bit as much scrutiny as DNC Chairman Terry McAwful's and Crockumentary Specialist Michael Moore's claims that George W. Bush was AWOL in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. The Swift Vets have released a book that promises details of their allegations and that work deserves to be taken seriously. Furthermore, the Swift Vets have tried to get John Kerry to release his entire military record (something that the aforementioned demanded of President Bush) to no avail. The media (namely Tim Russert and a couple of reporters from Boston) has also attempted to examine the records in order to set the story straight. Kerry isn't having it and fails to cooperate.
For me, this is as much a media bias story as anything else. How many MoveOn.org ads have we endured that have been equally critical of President Bush? How many books that are critical of this administration have gotten 60 Minutes specials? How many authors/filmmakers have been praised by the media for taking aim at the President? And how many more are yet to come? Watch closely how the media treats this story. Notice how they insult the integrity of men who fought bravely for our country in a war that wasn't very popular, but in which they performed admirably.
We put the lid on this week's show last night (we usually close the show around Wednesday night prior to the show on Saturday) because I wasn't sure we should cover this story. A call placed to my father, a Vietnam vet with the USMC, convinced me that we should. These guys deserve to be able to tell their story. John Kerry told his story in 1971 when he maligned his band of brothers as murders, rapists, and war criminals. They have stayed silent, for whatever reason, for so long; having endured so much that it was time for a release.
Some question the timing of all this. Democrats are trying to say that this is a Bush/Cheney conspiracy. I disagree. Karl Rove may be many things, but stupid isn't one of them. After a miserable performance at the convention in which Kerry/Edwards received a negligible to non-existant bounce in the polls, the LAST thing a smooth political operator would do is put out a hit ad that could generate sympathy for John Kerry. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to have examined the allegations that these guys have been making back in January when Mr. Rassmann was Senator Kerry's defacto running mate? If not then, surely back in May when the Swift Vets held a National Press Club press conference. The media had to be forced into covering what these guys have to say.
As I have come to know from the few conversations I've shared with my father about his Vietnam experience (and we should talk some more Dad) , a lot of these guys really haven't let go of their experience. They came home to jeers and were treated horribly instead of cheers and treated as the heroes that they were. I recently heard an interview with Gen. Tommy Franks (retired US Army, former commander of CENTCOM), who served in Vietnam and he indicated that he believed that some atrocities did occur, and that there always will be atrocites committed in war. I can believe that. I don't think anybody can honestly believe that atrocities could ever have occured at the level to which John Kerry described in his Congressional testimony back in 1971. I believe it is time for the veterans of that war to speak up and set the record straight. It won't be easy, but it is something that we can all learn from; we should cherish this generation of heroes as we do every other. They deserve it.
