Tom Oliphant knows something thats going to go down

[59millionmorons]

Tom Oliphant knows something, on Scarborough he keeps hinting that something big is about to happen beginning tomorrow.

[annxburns]

1. Daughter works for Kerry campaign ...

wonder what it is?

[speedoo]

14. Yeah, I can't wait for whatever it is.

Oliphant says he has seen Kerry do this time and time again. Almost invites his opponents to attack his Vietnam record and then he counterpunches. Oliphant talks about the "next phase" starting soon.

There is obviously so much more at stake this time. Swiftliars getting picked off one by one, Bush refusing to condemn them, ties to Bush, etc.

[qanda]

2. Who is Tom Oliphant?

eom

[59millionmorons]

5. Boston Blobe writer

and old friend of Kerry's.

[AmerDem]

24. this is Oliphant

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

28. He has written the single best OpEd piece on the Swifty smear I've read.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/08/22/smear_by_veterans_may_hurt_bush?pg=full

Basic premise: in earlier eras, the Swift smear could never have happened. As there is no evidence or substance to it, it would have never passed muster with the media and gotten such publicity. But in the Cable News/Talk Radio era, it automatically gets play.

[grytpype]

48. Amazing, even NIXON did not attack Kerry's record!

Read the whole article, it's amazing!

[yardwork]

50. Thanks for linking this article - I wrote Oliphant a note of thanks

Is he related to the political cartoonist Oliphant?

edit - spelling

[bluestateguy]

3. What's that supposed to mean?

I'm watching gymnastics right now and refuse to watch Joe Yarborough.

[berner59]

8. He's the Boston Globe guy...

Who's covered Kerry for over 30 years... He was so smooth on Scarborough - saying this isn't anything new for Kerry to deal with this and he's a pro with the counter attack... He did say something was going to start tomorrow and he said that the Kerry camp probably didn't want this to go away yet...BRING IT ON!!!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

10. Oliphant talked about how

(paraphrasing) Kerry 'led with his chin' on this issue, seemingly inviting attacks on his Vietnam record, as he has for 22 years, because for Kerry, what is important is not the attack, which has always come, but the counterattack, which we are starting to see now, and we'll see a new phase of it tomorrow.

[grytpype]

13. I like the sound of that!

I hope Oliphant isn't just talking through his hat!

[AmerDem]

25. He doesn't wear a hat!

He wears a bow tie! Sorry, I couldn't resist the dry humor!

[grytpype]

47. OK, talking through his bow tie!

It would be easier to talk through a hat, but if he wants to talk through a bow tie, I say more power to him!

[vickie]

40. I enjoyed the Oliphant interview. Even that squinty-eyed,

whining cracker Scarborough treated him with respect. I definitely got the impression from Oliphant's discussion, that Kerry is not finished with the Swift Boat Scum.

[bushwakker]

71. Oliphant is not a yeller

he is an adult. something sorely missing in todays punditry. his columns are alawys worth reading.

[mzmolly]

65. From the article:

Kerry may have been nicked some at the margins by all this while he was responding via surrogates the last few weeks. Raising the profile of the smear, as well as confronting it directly and putting it at Bush's door, is overdue in the view of some Democratic Party operatives, a risk in the view of others. My own guess is that the higher the profile of this mess the more it looks like the smear it is, and the more it risks boomeranging on the president.

Hmmmm... I guess we'll wait and see. Kerry's camp said today that this will hurt Bush in the end, and ... from the recent "change" of heart from Bush today (calling the ads "bad for the system") I wonder if he feels he played right into Kerry's hand. ;)



I hope my opponent joins me in saying — condemning these activities of the 527s. It's — I think they're bad for the system. That's why I signed the bill, McCain-Feingold. ~ George Bush

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040824/ap_on_el_pr/war_politics&cid=694&ncid=716

[Junkdrawer]

4. Yeah. I saw that.

He said Kerry always gets this attack and always turns it around the same way.

[59millionmorons]

9. Also

He said Kerry likes that this has now turned to his military record.

[ruggerson]

6. Yep

Even more importantly, Oliphant's suggesting that Kerry knew the swiftie thing was coming, he led with his chin on it, he actually BAITED the Bushies into this fight, and the counterattack, over the next few weeks, is the important part of the story, where he defines himself for the country.

If this is true, historians will look back at this as utterly brilliant political strategy.

Is Kerry in the middle of out-Roving Rove?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. Classic Rope-a-Dope.

Maybe KKKarl Rove isn't the evil genius he's been portrayed to be. Just evil - genius, not so much.

[spanone]

21. Kerry Had to Know O'neill was Out There...

[spanone]

22. Kerry Had to Know O'neill was Out There...

[0rganism]

26. hope he understands these media waters are as hostile as the Mekong delta

This ain't your daddy's newsmedia anymore. There are anchorsharks in the pay of the bush crime family who will gladly slit his throat for a shot at access to a bush whitehouse. If Sen. Kerry plans on getting his message out quickly and accurately, he'd better have something extra special planned.

[Kimber Scott]

30. Here's where things are getting tricky. The media is afraid it's not

going to be a Bush White House much longer. They're not sure how to play their hand.

[redstateblues]

49. Dead On Analysis- Explains a Lot

[Proud2BAmurkin]

54. It's very obvious the media think the smart money says Kerry victory

.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

98. Yes. A tipping point approaches.

Posted by Kimber Scott

"Here's where things are getting tricky. The media is afraid it's not going to be a Bush White House much longer. They're not sure how to play their hand."

This could be a tipping point. Metaphors like rats leaving a sinking ship or stampedes come to mind.

[Cronus Protagonist]

51. Kerry has proven he can handle that.... Bush, however....

...is a spinless little windbag of a deserter, a criminal and a proven liar too, no matter how much more he whines.

Swiftboat Veterans for Bush

JFK - Drop Bush Not Bombs! - FUCK BUSH
http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[hlthe2b]

29. God, I hope so... I've been reassured by Oliphant's comments up to now

but, my stomach feels like I've been on the down course of a never-ending rollercoaster ride. Let me up, please, before i throw up!

[tuvor]

Oh, please, God, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeeze!

You're all saying the same thing, aren't you?

;-)

[mzmolly]

68. Regardless wether or not it's true Kerry anticipated it, the spin they're

putting on this now is motha friggin brilliant!

Out Roving Rove? :evilgrin: Perhaps... :hi:

Welcome to DU!

[smiley_glad_hands]

7. Tom Oliphant

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/oliphant/

[Psst_Im_Not_Here]

18. Excellent Op-ed

I had to print it out for some people to read!

[Indiana_Dem]

19. I just emailed him some praises! Thanks! n/t

[whalerider55]

45. actually, upon a second reading

hmmm. i didn't realize that everyone was talking about this sunday's oliphant piece. when i read it yesterday, i didn't think there was much new or portentious in it.

maybe i missed something.

whalerider55

[yardwork]

53. Very interesting - he wrote about a lot of important issues in the 70s

Boston school desegregation, Wounded Knee, energy crisis, Pentagon papers.....not to mention all the topics he's covered since that time.

It's uplifting to read about a REAL journalist!

[David Dunham]

11. Kerry has a big speech in New York on Tuesday.

[Guaranteed]

16. Oh, that's right. I forgot about that.

Heard about it early this morning.

I have a real good feeling about this. He's positioned himself very, very well.

[faithnotgreed]

12. big grin

[radiclib]

17. The most important thing Oliphant said

was that Kerry's descriptions of war atrocities were second hand accounts from fellow soldiers who were anguished about what they had done. This is the absolute truth as IU remember it at the time, and it must be made crystal clear by the Kerry campaign if this "debate" refuses to go away.

[LynnTheDem]

35. Vets asked Kerry to represent them

Vets testified (Winter Soldiers hearings)

They asked Kerry to represent them to Congress.

Kerry did so, saying what THEY, the vets, had said THEY, the vets done (atrocities).

Republican senator Hatfield ordered the vets' testimonies into the Congressional Records and then ordered the Naval Investigation Service to investigate the vets.

The NIS did so and concluded they could neither confrim nor deny the vets' confessions.

At no time did Kerry accuse the vets of atrocities. Full statement;

http://www.nationalreview.com/document/kerry200404231047.asp

[grytpype]

20. Read Oliphant's latest column:

Very reassuring... don't worry, Kerry has been down this road before and he knows exactly what to do. He is about to give Smirk the pimpslapping of his life.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/08/22/smear_by_veterans_may_hurt_bush/

[DURHAM D]

23. I think it is about the medals that Bush was wearing

but apparently did not earn.

[MichDem10]

27. As James Carville said...

Hopefully the Kerry campaign is following Rule #3 from Carville and Begala's book: "Buck Up, Suck Up... and Come Back When You Foul up"

Rule #3 : KICK ASS!

Kick ass!! Politics is "An All-or-Nothing Game" Counter Punch and be aggressive! "If your opponents initial punch is aggressive, your response had better be twice as aggressive."

"Liberty is not given. It is taken."

:kick:

[mzmolly]

74. Welcome to DU!

I like Rule # 3. :hi:

KICK ASS KERRY!!! "Liberty is not given, it is taken" ... great line!

[NewYorkerfromMass]

31. Kerry will probably release his DD214

something Bush has not done either. Boy oh boy, then the shit will be back at Bush... 10 fold.

[napi21]

41. Kerry's DD214 has been on his web page since April.

Got to be something else. Maybe Shrubs DD214!

[stopbush]

32. My guess: they've turned one of the SBVs and he will spill the

beans on the coordination with Rove & the WH, complete with the coaching sessions on how to say things that raise doubts but don't cross the line into actual lies.

[DoYouEverWonder]

33. According to the NYT's

they've found another direct link between the Bush Campaign and the SBV.

The president spoke on a day when Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, in another indication of its web of ties to the Republican Party, acknowledged that a woman who helped set it up and works for it is an officer of the Majority Leader's Fund, a political action committee affiliated with the former House majority leader Dick Armey of Texas.

The name of the woman, Susan Arceneaux, is given as the contact person on the post office box that Swift Boat Veterans for Truth lists as its address. She is treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund. Records show that like Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group receives significant financing from Bob Perry, a Texan who has long supported Mr. Bush, and his company, as well as Sam and Charles Wyly, prominent Texas Republican donors. Sam Wyly, under the name "Republicans for Clean Air,'' took out advertisements in 2000 criticizing the environmental record of Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona.

Mr. Perry has donated $200,000 to the Swift boat group, records show, and Merrie Spaeth, a Republican strategist who has been advising the Swift boat group, was a spokeswoman for Sam Wyly's advertising campaign in 2000.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/24/politics/campaign/24swift.html?hp

[City Lights]

34. Crazy thought on dubya's military records.

There is speculation that his official records were cleaned up sometime prior to his run for president. What if there was a copy of the original records out there that has made its way into Kerry's hands from someone who filed a Freedom of Information request from before the scrub.

John Edwards has said the "clock is ticking" as though they were going to drop the big one unless dub denounced those ads.

What if the big one is a copy of dubs unscrubbed records?

Am I nuts, or is this a possibility?

Edited for clarity.

[Lex]

37. Remember Smirk got a new Texas driver's license issued

in what, 1995?

With a new number and everything. That is seldom done. Something was scrubbed for sure, but I don't know if this is something Kerry would hit him with.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

83. Yeah I live in TX

and you don't just GET a new license number. You have to jump through some serious hoops, prove WHY you need a new number and give all kinds of documentation to get it.

It's very rare.

[City Lights]

88. Laura got a new one too, IIRC. eom

[PopSixSquish]

38. You May be on to Something There

These guys are both lawyers and John Edwards, in particular, is known for his prep work for his trials. If there is something out there, the Kerry/Edwards campaign has it.

[mzmolly]

76. He said "the clock is ticking" and "he had his chance to do the right

thing" and other cryptic statements as if to give Bush a chance to play clean.

[City Lights]

89. That was my thinking too.

They warned bush to end it. More than once. He passed. They're dropping the big one. Stay tuned...

[AmerDem]

99. If they had such documents

I think they would have slammed shrub on it already. You have remember that his millitary record has been look at for awhile and he is on record many many times saying that everything is out and he served honorably etc. That alone would be enough to show perjury ( in a since ) . He would have no one to get him out of it and it would be, to use a phrase Tenet liked "A Slam Dunk".

[Junkdrawer]

36. Kerry will call Bush out...

Here's my guess:


Mr. Bush

For the past several weeks, you have sent your henchmen to attack my military record, while you sat back and called my service "honorable". You claimed that you had nothing to do with the attacks.

I don't believe you.

If you want to question my service, do it to my face.

If you want to question my actions after that tragic war, do it to my face.

Now, last April, I asked questions about your National Guard service. I did so directly. I signed my name to the challenge. Here are those questions:

Bush Has Said He Used No Special Treatment To Get Into The Guard. How Does He Explain The Fact That He Jumped Ahead Of 150 Applicants Despite Low Pilot Aptitude Scores?

Col. Albert Lloyd Said A Report From Alabama To Ellington Should Have Been Filed. Where Is That Report?

Why Did Bush Miss His Medical Exam In 1972?

Where Are The Complete Results Of The Required Investigation Into Bush’s Absence From The Exam?

Why Did Bush Specifically Request To NOT Be Sent Overseas For Duty?

Why Does The White House Say Bush Was On Base When Bush’s Superiors Had Filed A Report Saying He Was Gone For A Whole Year?

Why Is The Pentagon Under Orders To Not Discuss Bush’s Record With Reporters?

Where Are Bush’s Flight Logs?

Why Hasn’t Bush Himself Demonstrated That He Showed Up For Service in Alabama?

They are simple, direct questions. America awaits your answers.


BTW:

In case you think he won't, here the link to April's challenge:

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0427b.html

[Norquist Nemesis]

84. That would be good but

I don't think Kerry will take an attack like this directly to Bush. He wants Bush to denounce the SB ad and attacks. He's also saying they are a front for Bush...that's where the story is. This way he reinforces Bush evil regime, but also goes back to the off-mike comment about them being a bunch of liars. Kerry's proven his record is clean. Now he'll hit the credibility issue and swing it right into lying about everything (including WMD, environmental policies, tax cuts, job numbers, etc. etc. etc. etc.).

[Chichiri]

39. Pardon me, can I have a link . . .

to this Scarborough thing that people keep talking about?

Another dumb newbie questions, sorry.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

42. It was on TV tonite.

I don't know how fast MSNBC is at putting up transcripts.

[rocktivity]

97. MSNBC.com should have a transcript up sometime today.

And welcome to DU, dumb newbie Chichiri!

:hug:
rocknation

[AnnitaR]

43. "or else everything's is on the table"!

Remember that is what the Kerry campaign threatened over the weekend. I know we like to quibble about what the campaign is doing right and wrong here but I have to hand it to them they know what the hell they are doing.

Kerry wasn't my first choice but I have to admit but he is impressing the hell out of me. He is playing it smart and does best when it seems like he's been backed into a corner. He's a fighter and knows how to win. We have the guy who can beat this asses at their own game!

[mzmolly]

77. Exactly right. Bush if you don't renounce the adds "everything is on the

table" brilliant!

They then said "Bush had his chance to do the right thing" and did not.

Wow, I am with you, this is getting gooooood!

Notice how the Bush camp keeps saying "Kerry is losing his cool" LOL. I think they're gonna find out how "cool" Kerry is!

[whalerider55]

44. Oliphant Elephant Speculation

As a resident of Massachusetts, a longtime Kerry watcher an d Oliphant reader, here's my two-cents.

Allusions to Kerry's experience with this kind of grandstanding BS harken back to the senate race against Weld. During there last debate (they were very close in the polls, and it really looked like Weld had a shot at unseating him) Weld introduced a woman from the audience as "the widow of a cop shot to death in the line of duty," and challenged Kerry to tell her why her husband's life "was worth less than the man who killed him" (the death penalty issue).

Kerry paused, and then struck like a frickin' cobra. In all my years of watching political debates, i've never seen anything like it in my life.

He said "It isn't. The man who killed your husband is scum, and deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life." Then he turned to Weld and said "I know something about killing, governor, and i simply believe it should not the something that the government should be involved in. I don't support capitol punishment."

My subjective recollection is that Weld reacted viscerally, like he'd been punched in the stomach, and at that moment, everyone in MA knew the election was over. Momentum stopped; weld conceded ten minutes after the polls closed. end of story.

i think the shoe to drop is something kos alluded to tonite, that the Palame investigation is about to cough up indictments reaching into the white house. puts W in a pickle, no?

anyway, Kerry is lethal in a debate.

whalerider55

[judgegina]

55. Beautiful recollection, whalerider

Welcome to DU!

[yardwork]

58. Wow. That sounds impressive.

Much better than Dukakis (I still wince when I remember that debate. A low point in the history of the Democratic Party.)

Kerry paused, and then struck like a frickin' cobra. In all my years of watching political debates, i've never seen anything like it in my life.

These are difficult times. America needs a cobra.

[Stephanie]

63. Welcome to DU

We have an influx of excellent new posters today. Hope you enjoy DU - we do.

[alphafemale]

46. Maybe Kerry will make Bush "Drive his car into the lake"

Okay, vague movies reference, but Bush has always reminded of that spoiled, weaslish "Bernard" from "Billy Jack."

[redstateblues]

Sounds Like More Plame Thread Wishful Thinking

If we are waiting for some magic bullet, we will be sorely disappointed. I spent many weeks of anticipation, with many posts about things that were going to happen by certain dates. So Far- nada

[whalerider55]

66. a painful metaphor

i agree, there will be no "magic bullet"; but i've also watched Kerry up close since 1982, and he can be relentless. He grasps the issues, he can set a debate trap that even the most sophisticated politician can step into without realizing, and he can close the deal.

Watch the repo's immediately start setting a lower bar for W in the debates.

i also have to say that the clips that i have seen of him campaigning across the US don't really jive with the numerous times i've seen him and spoken with him here in MA- and i mean that in the most positive sense.

again, kerry is relentless, he picks up stride towards the end of the race, and he (and McCain) are two of the few public figures that i have seen who really can understand the VietNam experience in its larger spiritual and political context. Bush doesn't even exist in that same universe. In the end, I don't think this will help Bush.

And at this point, given the polls, i think what doesn't help him ends up hurting him.

whalerider55

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

87. But Kerry has inside crap on the Bushies from Iran Contra and BCCI

SwiftBoat Vets are fighting the WRONG war. :D (Welcome to DU..it was great reading your posts in this thread)

[Lex]

72. I still think the Plame thing will break with indictments.

I never thought we'd know exactly when so I managed not to get my hopes up. But I do think it will happen.

[rockymountaindem]

86. Or like that guy who drove his car into the lake in "SLC Punk".

Kind of a wierd movie but that part was hillarious.

It was the Great Salt Lake and it the car wouldn't sink.

[mzmolly]

52. He also said Kerry is content having a debate about his war record.

:evilgrin:

I do look forward to tomorrow folks. I guess the counter attack is approaching.

Oliphant said Kerry has battled these same issues in every campaign, and handles them in the same way every time.

Could this be the beginning of a "counter attack" ??

[Lex]

56. What *time* is Kerry's speech tomorrow in NYC?

If there is a smackdown, that's where it will be unveiled probably.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

59. 9:30- 10:00 at the Cooper Union

Maybe then. Maybe sooner. maybe later....

[Feanorcurufinwe]

73. Actually, it is scheduled for 11 AM ET

On Tuesday, August 24, 2004, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry will travel to New York, NY, and deliver remarks focused on the choice facing voters in this election. While Kerry delivers remarks in New York just days before the Republican convention, his running mate John Edwards will highlight the choice at stake in the election in an address to the Ohio AFL-CIO in Columbus, Ohio.

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

John Kerry

11 AM ET

Kerry Delivers Remarks at the Great Hall of the Cooper Union on the Choice Facing Voters in This Election

Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street, New York, NY
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=35081

[Stephanie]

67. Kerry speaks at 9:30 a.m. at Cooper Union

Famous old hall in the East Village. I believe Lincoln spoke there.

[MichDem10]

57. Timing?

Hopefully Kerry has something hard to hit the Rethugs with!!

I can't think of anything better than knocking them off of script for their convention.

What could be better than some "questionable" issue dogging * & Co. and drowning out their "message" at the convention?

:nuke:

[whalerider55]

80. broad message

i think that the plan (whether it has changed or not i don't know) was to use this speech to try to set out a Kerry national agenda as an "in your face" in town as the white men in suits kick off their convention.

more than that would be great. but i'm not anitcipating more than that.

whalerider55

[nolajazz]

60. Kerry will challege Bush to a duel. Of course, Bush will wet his pants.

[LearnedHand]

61. Kerry will be on The Daily Show tomorrow night

Wonder if that has anything to do with the "something big" that's about to happen?

[Democat]

64. A major speech and the Daily Show - if he has something to say...

He will have the stage tomorrow.

I wonder if Bush will make some big announcement about Iraq or something else to try to overshadow Kerry.

[EST]

62. Yah, he's been telegraphing for some time that he learned

to turn hard and charge the ambushers. This anticipation is hard on my heart, but keeps me young (a little.)

[JI7]

69. Oliphant is one of the few media people Kerry can trust

[whalerider55]

75. Advantage- Kerry

Kerry does have the advantage of actually being able to read and understand Oliphant.

Since he doesn't appear in the Comics section, it is probably safe to assume that W hasn't seen the column.

well, that was nastier than it needed to be. i'm just so pissed that the media have given the weasels so much play.

whalerider55

[mzmolly]

79. Welcome to DU Whalerider!

:toast:

[whalerider55]

82. to all the welcoming rabble-rousers

thanks.
i feel like i'm right at home here.
i'll try to maintain the high standards for discourse.

:-)

whalerider55

[Chichiri]

70. I sure hope you guys are right.

As the song says, we all need some light now.

[Curtis]

78. I just hope it's something grand

because I've been sick to my stomach over this Swift LIARS thing and have lost online friends because I won't flip to their side of things (I'm one of a very few leftists who participate in off-road type events) during this election cycle.

Main thing is being sick of the Swift thing. My dad was a Vietnam vet who took part in CIA operations in country (radio operator on various planes). He heard things that he admitted when home in the late 60's would drive him to an early death because he could not believe people would do things like what we did over there to other people. He died in 1976 at 39 years old from alcoholism. He would be even more sickened by the way these vets are lying and smearing a fellow vet.

Secondly, my step dad (quite younger than my mother) graduated in 1968 from Roseville High School, CA. He tried to join the Marines but did not pass his physical due to a severe football injury the year before graduation. So, he voted for Nixon in '72 to "support the troops" and then vowed to never vote again after Watergate and the things he heard from his friends who served in country. He lost SIX very close friends over there, and two came back nut cases who are still in institutions and a few others are now the perfect people "to call on if you want someone killed. They'd do it for free."

Wally, my second and who I consider my real dad, was planning on voting this election (he even registered) because he said that Bush is worse than Nixon and is scared of what is going to happen if Bush sits in the Oval Office for another four years. However, we lost one for Kerry when Wally died in his sleep on May 25 this year. It's good he didn't see what is now going on because he would have made one of those calls to one of his friends to make it end.

(PS-Thanks for the welcomes in advance but I've been here since last year. But, thanks anyway)

[mzmolly]

81. Thanks for posting your story Curtis. My dad is a vet as well and I

am afraid to approach this with him.

So sorry your Dad was a later casualty of Vietnam (albeit in a different manner then many) the war takes it's toll for many years following.

Take care and hope to see you post more often. :hi:

[Indiana_Dem]

85. My husband is a Vietnam vet, too, and is voting Kerry.

When we first met and were getting to know each other, he told me of the atrocities that occured when he was there. He was only a supply person but heard all the stories from the guys coming back from the field. He told me of how badly the Vietnamese were by putting bombs in their babies and things. They also thought you had to be a whole person bodily to enter into heaven and that's why they cut off parts of the soldiers' bodies--to spook the soldiers. Soon, my husband said, the soldiers were doing the same things back. He said after you see one of your comrades cut up and hung and all the gross things you can imagine, it isn't long before your anger reverses back on the enemy. Kerry was telling the truth. I heard these things from my husband 20 years ago. He has told me a lot as I am 16 years younger than him. He said it was nothing more than a business man's war and you could get anything you wanted from all the commercial businesses in Vietnam. Then he complained that the higher ups would tell them to advance and then would pull them back, advance, pul back and back and forth where nothing was ever accomplished. They were NEVEr allowed to bomb north for fear of the Chinese. He and many of his comrades knew they were fighting a losing battle that way. This is why he is voting for Kerry. He respects him for serving and feels Kerry will be more apt to understand and have compassion on what our troops are having to do. It's purely sickening that these SwiftBoat vets have the odacity to do what they're doing. They remind me of a bunch of middle-aged white businessmen who would screw anybody to get ahead--all out for themselves and their interests and nobody else!

[Skittles]

92. Curtis - you had two "real dads"

and they both sound like great men

[DeepModem Mom]

95. Thanks for posting your story, Curtis -- and welcome --

[Scorpious_Maximus]

90. Safety of Rhode Island

While I sit in the safe State of Rhode Island...

I also recall the debate with Bill Weld when I lived in the Baystate.

John Kerry is most lethal when his enemy perceives him at his weakest.

I haven't got a clue what they've got planned, but I know it will be huge, and lethal.

It's all Sun Tzu.


Rove won't know what hit him. :nuke:

[DemMother]

91. according to NY Times and liberal oasis it will be about

the Bush family tradition of dirty campaigning (posted this in another thread).

http://www.liberaloasis.com

[oldtime dfl_er]

93. 2 seconds after Kerry's punch...

who will it be, Tom Ridge or John Ashcroft, that gets trotted out to raise the terra level?

[Dem2theMax]

94. LMAO. I was sitting here thinking

"gee, it's been what, two weeks since we've had a terra lert?" * and company must be going nuts since everyone and his brother called them on their use of terra lerts after the bungle in NYC. The bungle that led to the outting of someone working inside al Qaeda. OOOPS.

Bet they are chomping at the bit to use one now. I keep expecting it every day, but truly do think they cried wolf one time too many and it caught them in the ass. Goody. :evilgrin:

[Lex]

96. Yep--they overplayed their hand on the terra 'lerts.

Last time the media questioned them but good about the political implications of it.

They got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Idiots--overplaying it ended up ruining the whole tactic for them. It won't be the last time that they overplay their hand on something major, I think.

Maybe on Kerry's miliary record the same thing is happening.