April 21, 2004

A bad day for the goose and the gander
Posted by Jon Henke

Kevin Drum really is a smart guy, so it's pretty amazing that he would write something this incredibly.....dumb.

George Bush, fresh out of Yale, [snip expected anti-Bush screed].

Conservative reaction: why are you impugning the patriotism of this brave man? He got an honorable discharge and that's as much as anyone needs to know.

John Kerry, fresh out of Yale, [snip expected pro-Kerry screed]

Conservative reaction: Hmmm, that first injury wasn't very serious. This is something that deserves careful and drawn-out investigation, and it would certainly be unfair to impugn "craven or partisan motives" to those doing the impugning.

Are these guys a piece of work, or what?

I am dumfounded.

I've seen some self-serving, hypocritical bullshit before, but this takes the cake. I mean, this takes a whole catering truck full of cakes.

First, let's remember that Kevin Drum was the blogger leading the Bush/AWOL charge a few months ago. (one who "helped to keep this issue simmering along") At the time, Kevin wrote...

Finally, there's really only one question here, and it's the one that everyone should be banging on: why won't Bush release his full military record? What's he afraid of?
So, Bush did release his papers. And, as it turned out, the records showed exactly what Bush said they showed. And (surprise!) the story got dropped like a losing issue in an election year, without so much as an "oops...my bad!" from Drum.

So, right off, he's lost any moral high ground from which he can criticize people who make unsubstantiated, ridiculous allegations. As far as those people are concerned, Kevin Drum is King - The High Spurious Muckraker.

And now the tables are turned. Kerry is facing unsubstantiated rumors, and partisan demands that he release his records. The only difference is that John Kerry has already established that a lack of evidence does not absolve a candidate....one must, apparently open personal records to disprove unfounded allegations.

When the hot potato was in Bush's hands, Kerry said "Just because you get an honorable discharge does not answer that question".

Of course, if you substitute "purple heart" for "honorable discharge"....well, that's just being silly and partisan.

But Kevin Drum seems to miss that entirely. Instead of saying "sheesh. Now I realize how dumb I was"....Kevin has the nerve to turn around and write "Are these guys a piece of work, or what?" when Republicans do THE SAME DAMNED THING HE WAS DOING IN FEBRUARY.

Yeah, Kevin...they're a "piece of work". And you're the Master Craftsman.

Jane's Law: "The devotees of the party in power are smug and arrogant. The devotees of the party out of power are insane."

...and, occassionally, VERY intellectually dishonest. If Kevin can't see that, god help him.

Note: No, this doesn't absolve Republicans of blame for the same political hackwork. You stuck up for Bush based on the lack of evidence against him....you don't get to criticize Kerry with the same amount of evidence used against Bush. Or rather, you do...but only so long as you admit that your principles consist of "political opportunism" and little else.

I mean, Christ....a guy with multiple decorations earned in freaking combat gets attacked because he didn't get hurt ENOUGH?!?!?! I'll take one thing back: while Bush didn't deserve the "AWOL" attacks he got, the Republicans certainly deserved it.

UPDATE: Beltway Traffic Jam.

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Comments

I haven't heard anyone in the Bush camp dispute Kerry's Purple Hearts. That seems relegated to the lower tier pundits.

Posted by: James Joyner at April 21, 2004 08:40 PM

Kerry's commanding officer certainly questioned his first Purple Heart. He said Kerry had a small scratch on his arm that he didn't think warranted a PH. However he let the request for the award go forward.

Posted by: McQ at April 21, 2004 09:19 PM

Jon: Yes ... not having been hurt badly enough is precisely right.

Been there done that ... been "hurt" every bit as "badly" in combat as JK was (in fact NUMEROUS times) for his first award and NEVER, EVER even considered putting in for a PH.

Purple Hearts are for people who get wounded in combat ... not scratched.

Down and out. I saw plenty of them. And they weren't walking around with something a Scooby Doo band aid could cover.

So excuse me if I don't 'laud' the man's award and doubt the seriousness of his other "wounds".

Hell I've got scars on my face and arms from combat that I didn't even know I had at that time and didn't really discover for a week because I was in the freakin' bush worried about getting my shit blown away.

When freakin' mortar and artillery rounds are landing all around you and there's shit flying all over hell's half acre, you GET scratched and banged up. But anyone worth their salt, at least in an infantry unit, wouldn't DARE claim a PH for scratches.

So like I said...YES, I QUESTION his PHs. There's something not quite right there. I can't quite name the odor but it doesn't smell very good.

Posted by: McQ at April 21, 2004 09:31 PM

So, Bush did release his papers. And, as it turned out, the records showed exactly what Bush said they showed.

Congratulations - you've written the most meaningless sentence I've read on the internet this week.

Bush said nothing about what the papers would show and, yes, that's exactly what they did show. Nothing.

The papers DIDN'T show how Bush jumped over a waiting list of 500 people to hide in the National Guard and avoid service in Vietnam.

The papers DIDN'T show why Bush skipped his annual physical.

The papers DIDN'T show whether Bush even met the very minimal requirements of guard duty while he was in Alabama.

The papers DIDN'T show how Bush got out of the guard early so he could go off to business school.

So all of the questions Kevin raised are still out there, waiting for answers. And you just conveniently ignored all those little details.

You're a fine one to write about "self-serving, hypocritical bullshit."

Posted by: Oregonian at April 22, 2004 01:09 AM

Perhaps definitions are at issue, but I've never seen any evidence that Drum is a real smart guy. But that aside ....

Didn't the DNC chairman personally launch the preposterous AWOL thing? I don't think any official GOP figure has touched the military records dust-up, much less launched it.

In fact, isn't it even worse than that? Wasn't the slimy DNC "AWOL" comment -- even if an uncoordinated, voluntary bit of slander -- in effect part of Kerry's "campaign," whose only actual "content" has been references to his V'nam service? Clark had that moronic lardbag call Bush a "deserter" on stage alongside him towards the end of his silly campaign. The DNC comment was in context very much another side of the Kerry biographical "strategy".

So the facts seem very assymmetrical in the two cases, and your conclusion might justifiably even be a bit harsher than it is.

Posted by: IceCold at April 22, 2004 01:22 AM

McQ:
The medic who treated Kerry wrote "Shrapnel in left arm above elbow. Shrapnel removed and appl bacitracin dressing. Ret to Duty".

Seems to me, we have a situation similar to the Bush/AWOL situation. Military records and personal testimony indicate one thing - some people dissent, saying the candidate may have fudged a bit for personal gain.

Until and unless there's actual proof, the military's judgement on the matter is good enough for me. Even if Kerry submitted himself for the PH, the military approved it. To be honest, I'm really unconcerned with how his injury compares to injuries of other soldiers. A purple heart means he was wounded...it doesn't mean he'll be a good President. I'm perfectly happy to credit him with a wound, without creditting him as fit for the Presidency.

Posted by: Jon Henke at April 22, 2004 05:47 AM

Oregonian:

Yeah, Bush did say what the papers would show. He claimed he did his time....that's why he offered to release the papers.

Bush didn't "jump ahead of 500 people" to get into the NG. He got into a unit that didn't have a waiting list, because very few people wanted to commit two active duty years to fly a fighter jet.

Bush skipped his physical because he wasn't flying. You take the physical so you can fly. If you're not flying...why take it? It would be like taking the driving exam, when you have no intention of driving.

The pay records showed he worked those days in Alabama, and the dental records showed he was at the base.

Finally, he got out of the Guard early because they allowed him to do so. It's common, especially as the Vietnam war was winding down and the Guard was bloating with returning GI's.

Those questions are only "out there" because you haven't tried to learn the answers.

Posted by: Jon Henke at April 22, 2004 05:54 AM

Joyner/Icecold,

You're right...the Bush campaign has not pursued this "records" thing to any serious extent. That's why I say Bush didn't deserve that AWOL criticism, but Republicans do.

Posted by: Jon Henke at April 22, 2004 05:56 AM

Jon:

"If it only required bacitracin and a Band-Aid, it sounds like a piece of hot shrapnel that was flying around and may not have even broken the skin," said Mr. Waller, adding that he'd never heard of a shrapnel injury that didn't require a tetanus shot and time off leading to a Purple Heart."

Waller was a medic with the Marine Corps in VN and had the job of determining whether an injury warranted a PH. And he makes a VERY GOOD point. Now that I think about it, I can't EVER remember a shrapnel wound that didn't require a tetnus injection.

Posted by: McQ at April 22, 2004 03:01 PM

Jon:

Your post is a load of baloney. Go read what Kevin Drum wrote on the subject this evening.

He'll set you straight.

Posted by: Oregonian at April 22, 2004 07:42 PM

I read it. He didn't really address my point at all, but he certainly spun it...well, the same way he's always spun it. I stand behind my post.

Posted by: Jon Henke at April 23, 2004 08:44 AM