Kerry's decision to go to Vietnam was politically motivated.

[girl gone mad]

I'm sure he believed that the experience would help him become a better leader.

It's obvious that his two tours in Vietnam had a profound impact on his life. To say that he was merely trying to pad his resume is patently ridiculous.

Bushed managed to pad his resume without ever having to serve in Vietnam.

[skooooo]

1. Why are you posting threads with stupid subject lines??

:wtf:

[girl gone mad]

2. I didn't think it was a stupid subject line.

I wanted to address the meme.

[skooooo]

3. ...wasn't clear to me...

[cheshire]

4. It got his attention and that's what counts. Some people don't get much

on here. He thinks it sounded like you were against Kerry.

[skooooo]

6. oh gee imagine that!!

and i'm not a "he"

[alevensalor]

7. Planning

If Kerry planned to be the president someday and only joined the military and went to Vietnam because of it, that would be completely asinine, I think. Risk getting yourself killed to pad your resume?

A man who would do that would have been sticking his nose into every piece of legislation coming down the pike for the last twenty years, as long as it looked like a sexy issue.

The guy's a hero, why can't they let it go? Oh, that's right, they don't have anything else to go on.

~A!

[merh]

15. Welcome to DU!

I like your thinking. Enjoy the adventure here. I believe you will find it very interesting and the sentiments in your post are most welcome.

Be forewarned, it will be a bumpy ride, but well worth it!

Welcome to DU :hi:

[Momgonepostal]

19. Welcome to DU

:-)

[pacalo]

11. You wanted to "address the meme"?

That contentious statement that you top-posted isn't a bone of contention among Democrats at all. What's your point?

[girl gone mad]

21. Well..

I certainly didn't intend for this thread to be contentious. I've noticed a disappointing trend on DU, which is that the most negative topics seem to be the most popular, so the title was really meant to attract some attention.

Sadly, I did have a big D Democrat say to me that he thought Kerry probably was being politically ambitious in Vietnam and he wished he liked Kerry more. The above was my response to him.

Frankly, I wish Kerry would nip this one in the bud. As someone below pointed out, Kerry has long been a risk taker. Clearly he had political aspirations from a young age, but I seriously doubt he saw Vietnam as a stepping stone on his path. I would personally like to hear him say something along the lines of "I decided that if I were going to be a political officer in this country, I should be willing to fight for her, that I should be willing to see combat firsthand. That was my decision and I do not fault those who made other choices for themselves."

[MaineDem]

25. Yeah, if wanted to be honored posthumously!

Do you think maybe he went 'cause he felt a duty to his country? Maybe his parents instilled such a feeling in him as he grew up?

Someone said the other day that anyone who consciously goes into a war zone thinking about a future political career will probably get medals awarded posthumously (I'm paraphrasing.)

You also said above that you wanted your thread to be popular. Why? Maybe we should be more concerned about our candidate being popular and work toward that every chance we get.

Sheesh!

On edit: I re-read your post. I misunderstood, I think. But, in that case, the subject line is deliberately misleading. You don't think he went for political reasons, right?

[stepnw1f]

5. This is Like Looking into a microscope...

right before the truck hits us. Let's not play into their game.

[girl gone mad]

8. I don't know.

I feel there is a concensus, even among some Democrats, that Kerry volunteered because he wanted to be President some day and he thought it would help him win.

To me, that's like saying a doctor went to medical school because he thought it would look good on his resume.

Maybe I'm not making any sense.

[pacalo]

9. Well, your analogy is right on.

But I've never seen any comments about Democrats feeling that Kerry volunteered to enhance his resume.

Even if he volunteered to risk his life on the front lines for two Vietnam tours to gain leadership experience, what's the point? That he's goal-oriented? That he's ambitious? I think those are excellent qualities in a leader.

Like Gen. Wes Clark, John Kerry earned his resume -- he didn't get it through osmosis. He was a serious-minded young man who worked hard to get where he is. Nothing wrong with that.

[DBoon]

10. There are other ways to build leadership skills

That don't risk life and limb. It makes no sense to volunteer for combat to pad a resume. After all, you could come back in a box, and then your resume wouldn't matter.

[pacalo]

14. I agree. My point was that even if he risked his life to enhance his

resume, wouldn't that be even more courageous than, say, asking your dad to pull strings so that you can duck out in Alabama to booze it up?

I thought the top-post was nervy.

[hope42mro]

20. No, I get it. And you're right. Either way he's still more competent...

than Bush. I'll trust the experience of a soldier, a casualty of war over a fighter pilot who never saw real combat. No one can question whether Kerry saw combat. I would think that would mean something...


Oh, if he joined the armed service in hopes of padding his resume: I don't care. I highly doubt the majority of slodiers join out opf pure service to country; ambition and money and more likely motivations, and honestly, those aren't condemnable either.

If I go to Africa to help children dying of AIDS, and compassion is my primary motivation, should I be condemned if I know it will also look good on my resume? I think not.

[sonicx]

12. I think the story is that...

Kerry went to the draft board and they told him he'd probably be drafted.

so he volunteered first so that he could choose to go whenever he wanted.

I read an article that did say he considered running for office in the future before he went to nam, but i can't imagine him throwing himself into a dangerous part of the war(swift boat) just for that.

1. He could have been killed
2. Lack of military service probably won't hurt your chances for office (this election and the 2000 repub primary shows that the opposite is often true)

[0rganism]

13. Ridiculous meme -- which, I assume, is what you were trying to demonstrate

You don't sign up for a high-risk front-line spot in a war (85% casualty rate!) because you want to invest in your future career. No, that makes no sense at all. John Kerry's a thrill seeker with a strong ethical sense -- that's my opinion, at least.

I figure he signed up for Swift boat duty because (1)he thought the USA was doing the right thing in Vietnam while he was on the Gridley, and (2)he wanted to see the action firsthand, up close, which is hard to do from a missile cruiser in the Tonkin Gulf. When he did see what was going down, he changed his mind and eventually took action on his own initiative to stop it. This is not the lifestyle of a risk-averse Machiavellian.

To this day, Kerry engages in quasi-"extreme" sports like windsurfing and parasailing. I really do think he likes the rush.

[digno dave]

16. Which is it, "politically motivated" or "patently rediculous"?

Doesn't one's "motivation" precede all?

[AP]

17. Seriously. Kerry clearly had some noble ideas of politics when he was 21

if he wanted to go to vietnman because he wanted to be a public servant, that's good.

People really don't put their life on the line if they're cynical about politics. If they feel that way, they get their dad's to get them in the NG and make sure they get a picture of themselves in a flight suit while also making sure that they never get anywhere close to enemy bullets.

[mark414]

18. what a great idea

i'll go to a place where i can get killed, but just in case i get out alive it'll look great for when i run for office!

i ran into a guy who actually spouted this shit off to me.

ridiculous.

[henslee]

22. This subject line is definitely inappropriate and disruptive.

Is it innocent or intentional, who knows? Actually, I don't think it is the first time you have employed this style of subject line but I will not explore your motives except to say it is very divisive and misleading and does disrupt, intentionally or not. It is similar to those cute vanity posts in the lounge (example) that start with subject lines like.... "I'M LEAVING DU"... and then in the message body say "WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER." If you sincerely seek a discussion about Vietnam sevice/resume padding. etc, I hope you can see that the controversy you create by couching your subject line in this over-the-top way diminishes from your goal. It may fly in the lounge, but not in GD/election2004, not now. (on edit) But hey, I'm no moderator, do what you want.

[Richardson08]

23. Michelle Malkin and Alan Simpson

Malkin actually suggested on Hardball three weeks ago that Kerry's wounds in Vietnam were self inflicted and Simpson questioned how Kerry got his medals on Thursday's Hardball.How dare they?Malkin should be giving happy endings for $10 because that is all she is qualified to do

[MaineDem]

24. Good grief!

It's no wonder there's so much doom and gloom around here with Subject lines like this!

I wish half the energy spent on this board being negative about the Deomcrats' chances would be spent working on the campaign locally. What a help to the campaign that would be.

Good Lord, it's the primary season all over again in here!!!

[skooooo]

26. disruptive thread...

...I think this whole thing is BS

[Catfight]

27. Bush's decision to go AWOL was political suicide. n/t

[farmbo]

28. You're living up to your name...:)..."politically" he didn't need to risk

...his life in combat on Swift Boats.

His first tour in the "Blue Water Navy" off Yankee Station VN, had already qualified him for numerous VN campaign ribbons. He could have left the theater and gone home then if all he wanted was the "Vietnam Vet" moniker.

Had he wished to "pad" his resume with an In-country tour, he could have volunteered for rear echelon duties at the Navy's huge base at Cam Rom Bay.

In volunteering for combat, he was answering JFK's call to "Ask not...."

[GOPAgainstGW]

29. Rightttt And So Was Bush and Cheney's - NEXT!!!!!!

[democrat in Tallahassee]

30. bush's decision to go to Iraq was politically motivated