Bob Dolt got one thing right

[shockingelk]

Every day of his 1996 presidential campaign, Bob Dole wore a Purple Heart lapel pin as a symbol of his devotion to his country. Dole received a debilitating wound during WW II and his campaign touted that wound, and there's nothing wrong with that. His campaign prominently featured his war wounds:

Dole's official campaign video, "Bob Dole: An American Hero," features an "America's Most Wanted"-style recreation of the battlefield scene, with shaky, slow-motion footage of a rifle and an empty helmet rolling on the ground. His convalescence is conveyed with shots of a man from the knees down, shuffling forward.

The Kerry campaign, of course, is indeed featuring his Vietnam service. But anyone that would claim Kerry is making a lot of racket about his Purple Hearts or wounds isn't paying attention to John Kerry - they're paying attention to the racket John O'Neill is making about Kerry's medals. O'Neill seems to have Bob Dole's ear more than John Kerry does. On CNN yesterday, Dole bemoaned Kerry's Purple Hearts yet in the next breath made the astute observation that nobody thought to question his own service record and Purple Hearts:

And he's, you know, a good guy, good friend. I respect his record. But three Purple Hearts and never bled that I know of. I mean, they're all superficial wounds. Three Purple Hearts and you're out.

I think Senator Kerry needs to talk about his Senate record, which is pretty thin. That's probably why he's talking about his war record, which is pretty confused ...

I said John Kerry's a hero. But what I will always quarrel about are the Purple Hearts. I mean, the first one, whether he ought to have a Purple Heart - he got two in one day, I think ...

I remember in '96, I was the veteran in the race. Bill Clinton avoided the draft. And we didn't have all this trouble over my service versus his non-service. There wasn't much written about it. People accepted the fact that I had a record.

- Bob Dole, August 22, 2004

Indeed. It's the Swift Boat Vets for "Truth" that are confusing Kerry's service record, his record is clear and publicly available to download. On the characterization of Kerry's medals, Dole is just eagerly repeating the uncalled for smear - here are some excerpts from the 1996 Republican convention nobody had the audacity to smear:

"Bob Dole wears on the lapel of his coat a small pin. The purple heart, a symbol of his devotion to this county."
- Michael O. Leavitt, Floor Speech, Republican National Convention, August 15, 1996

"Bob Dole himself, bloodied in combat, tested by fire on the battlefield and in the world of politics, has proved his service to his country." - President George HW Bush, Floor Speech, Republican National Convention, August 12, 1996

"When his country called - Bob Dole was there - ready to make the sacrifice. America is calling again." Kay Bailey Hutchison, Floor Speech, Republican National Convention, August 13, 1996

Dole received a Purple Heart for a wound that was traumatic an affects him to this day. But as others have observed, Dole has a second Purple Heart for a minor wound, yet, as Dole says "People accepted the fact" that he got one his Purple Hearts from the incident he described like this in a campaign autobiography:

"As we approached the enemy, there was a brief exchange of gunfire. I took a grenade in hand, pulled the pin, and tossed it in the direction of the farmhouse. It wasn't a very good pitch (remember, I was used to catching passes, not throwing them). In the darkness, the grenade must have struck a tree and bounced off. It exploded nearby, sending a sliver of metal into my leg - the sort of injury the Army patched up with Mercurochrome and a Purple Heart."

- Bob Dole, 1988

If it wasn't for people like Swift Boat Vets for "Truth" making ridiculous claims and people like Bob Dole repeating them, there would be no problem.

Here is another ridiculous claim by the group for you to chew on - that Kerry wrote his own after action reports and embellished them. Their evidence?

See Exhibit 17. KJW identifies the report as Kerry's.

The initials KJW indicate that the report was written by John Forbes Kerry. Dole is right - Kerry's record is confusing - to stupid people.

[Trajan]

1. According to the Swift Boat Liars ....

Bob Dole is a dishonorable old soldier ...

"As we approached the enemy, there was a brief exchange of gunfire. I took a grenade in hand, pulled the pin, and tossed it in the direction of the farmhouse. It wasn't a very good pitch (remember, I was used to catching passes, not throwing them). In the darkness, the grenade must have struck a tree and bounced off. It exploded nearby, sending a sliver of metal into my leg - the sort of injury the Army patched up with Mercurochrome and a Purple Heart."

- Bob Dole, 1988


According to the BOB DOLE of 2004: Bob Dole of the 40's is a dishonorable soldier ....

Funny how lies have a way of BITING you in the ass ...

[shockingelk]

4. Well, that wasn't the wound Dole was touting

He had a fine threatening injury that permanently disabled him. And I think it's fine that his campaign used that as a symbol of dedication to his country.

Kerry is not going around talking about his war wounds - he's reminding America that he volunteered for Vietnam and was a much lauded and decorated leader of his unit.

And unlike how Dole was treated, Kerry's record is being smeared - including criticism that Kerry received Purple Hearts for relatively minor wounds. If Kerry was saying "I almost died", maybe he could be criticized even though he would have died had the same wounds been received somewhere else on his body. Yet still, Dole criticizes Kerry's wounds as if they're not good enough or something ...

[buycitgo]

2. does he have ONE tiny tiny bit of SHAME left?

thanks for this most excellent coverage, which has occurred NOWHERE on TV, of course. they aren't even mentioning his other purple heart, for starters

just repeating his LIES about Kerry's not bleeding, about two of them occurring on one day.

only Begala has mentioned this, but didn't make as much of it as it should, even after Tuckhead said that wasn't TRUE

[iwantmycountryback]

3. How bitter can a person be

He realizes this war veteran is going to win and he's an old fool so he's trying to get back at Kerry because he lost. Take a viagra dipshit.