The answer to the Kerry smears on Viet Nam is if they had listened to

[jumpstart33]

what Kerry and the group he represented many soldiers lives could have been saved from a needless, empty war that served no purpose except to get thousands killed.

[Old and In the Way]

1. Pretty damn simple to understand this, I think.

Watching the pro-Bush POWs on Hardball. I was hoping Chris would ask: "OK, let's say there was no Kerry, no VVAW, no anti-war protestors....do you think you'd have been freed sooner or later?"

I guess not enough Americans died for their tastes. At what point would they have been marching with Kerry? 100,000 dead? 250,000 dead? 500,000 dead? I don't know why they aren't asked this question....they seem to be arguing that we should have stayed and aborbed more losses in that unwinnable war.

But I guess Kerry should have kept a low profile and not served, like their hero, George Bush.

[dogtag]

2. A little background would be helpful

such as the fact that the boys were coming home in body bags at the rate of about 300 per week in that time period. A lot of us were protesting the war long before Nixon was elected in '68. By the time Kerry testified before the Senate, most of the country was suffering from war exhaustion and wanted it to end as soon as possible.

These POWs and the Swiftboat haters are so consumed with rage that they can't see straight, never mind remember accurately. In their twisted logic they blame Kerry for everything that went wrong with their war. It's Kerry's fault that there were no victory parades down Fifth Avenue and no dancing in the streets. They feel robbed and I can't really blame them. It's a fair guess that all their fathers served in WWII. Hail the conquering hero and all that. Everyone who served in Viet Nam got shafted, some more, some less, but in one way or another they all did. But it wasn't the fault of John Kerry.

What John Kerry and the Veterans Against the War are responsible for was turning around some people who still believed in the government and their lies. The protesters one saw on TV were primarily counter culture types and were in some circles easily discounted. When the guys in fatigues who had 'been there' became protesters too, they were harder to ignore. It was sobering and it drove Nixon and his cohorts crazy.

They're giving John Kerry way too much credit. Long nights of boozing and telling stories will do that. John McCain said he never heard of John Kerry while in the Hanoi Hilton. On this subject, I believe him.