Inside the mind of Kerry

Captain Ed continues to blog up a storm on the Kerry's increasing Vietnam difficulties. We'll probably have to add him to the blogroll since we're linking almost daily anyway.

As the hated Evil Glenn reports, the Big Media wall of silence around Kerry has now morphed into a full-on attack machine. The Swifties must be destroyed and they're getting the full smear.

The Posse Incitatus simply cannot compete in terms of research or media influence with these titans and we're not going to try.

What we have tried to do is offer our analysis and the occasional prediction on what these ongoing events mean.

Today, however, we're going to do something a little different. We're going to indulge in some creative writing, ala Roger Simon.

This is not to be confused with our earlier entry into the Mudville Gazette's Kerry Fan Fiction contest.

Today we are going to use the novelist's license to try to get inside John Kerry's well-coiffed head.

To us, much of the ongoing narrative about Kerry places too much emphasis on his opportunism, ignoring the very human fallibility that can help explain his lies and flip-flops.

This same tendency was on display during the Clinton presidency, where conspiracy theories abounded. The more likely situation - run of the mill corruption and ham-handed coverups - yielded to tales of Vince Foster's murder, Chinese espionage and long-term plans to upend the US Constitution.

We have no interest in revisiting or duplicating those fever swamps.

Instead we start with John Kerry, the man.

It was not usual for a young northeastern liberal of good family and means to be anti-war during the 1960s. The northeastern elites have always has a weakness for trendy causes and anti-Vietnam activism also had the side benefit of converging with the understandable human desire to avoid discomfort and danger.

Certainly a lot of Americans avoided military service through normal means simply because it was inconvenient. If fighting in war was so attractive, no draft would have been necessary.

Kerry - far from looking for a way to "give something back" for his privilage - tried to get out of military service as long as possible.

He was no heroic volunteer eager for duty. His deferment came up and he decided to enter the Navy as an officer rather than flee the country or go to jail. This decision went against his previous anti-war beliefs, but it is not a suprising departure.

He was, after all, part of the patrician class and keenly felt not only his right to rule but his duty to serve.

His choice of the Navy may have been influenced by the example of JFK, it is hard to say.

Whatever, once in the Navy, Kerry could not help but absorb some of the values and attitudes. Perhaps war wasn't so bad after all. Navy officers tend to me more class-conscious than any other service and within the Navy ranks, Kerry no doubt met other New Englanders with similar pedigrees.

He was posted to Vietnam but the USS Gridley was a very safe assignment. Swift boats were another story.

The Swiftees assert that Kerry was afraid he might get hurt (who isn't) and therefore got assigned to a different coastal division. Be that as it may, once he arrived in his billett, he apparently did what he needed to.

Kerry was now "in the shit" and it he determined to make the best of things. Here was his chance to truly emulate JFK and become a war hero. He bought a camera, kept a journal, and applied for whatever medals he felt he could get.

His narrative was at last taking shape.

Was this purely opportunistic? Perhaps, but Kerry was hardly alone. Other servicemen had similar vainglorious ambitions. Kerry's injuries may have been slight, but in his mind he figured they were justified.

He had been wounded, and if it wasn't actual combat, who could really say it wasn't? Charlie could start shooting at any moment.

It is possible that he wanted to cut his service time and saw the Purple Heart as an express ticket home. Both of these considerations - heroic reputation and early redeployment - probably figured into his thoughts.

When he got back, Kerry felt vindicated in his decision to serve. He had a fistful of medals and reaped great esteem thereby.

But only in certain circles. The Democrats cared little for war heroes - particularly in New England.

Kerry was now at a loss. His military career was worthless - worse than worthless, because core Democrats loathed him for having served.

Kerry could well have felt that his service was wasted. The dubious honors he had gathered, the Purple Hearts he had bent the rules to obtain he now hated.

So Kerry became an anti-war veteran, and gave free flow to his resentment. His much-celebrated decision to throw his medals away must have been somewhat cathartic. He didn't want them anyway, may not have deserved some of them and he scored political points for dumping them.

He became a minor celebrity through his Senate testimony and subsequent book. He was someone alright, not JFK, but his pacifist mirror.

In time, he was able to parlay this into a political career of sorts.

His anti-war credentials worked well in Reagan-era Massachusetts. He made the perfect foil to the Cold War hawks: a wounded Vietnam veteran dove.

He enjoyed the role so much, he couldn't help but embellish it. Why not? Cambodia was an "in" place after Apocalypse Now came out and why not claim he was there as well? No one cared because the war was ugly and all sorts of bad things happened.

Kerry's 1986 speech on Nicaragua - seared into the Blogosphere - was just more political theatre. Kerry's feelings of betrayal were probably real. He had been betrayed, betrayed into thinking that service was honorable and that his medals would mean something when he got back. Reagan he saw as the new Nixon and LBJ rolled into one: devious, bumbling and willing to get our boys killed for no good reason.

Kerry did well that decade, and when the Gulf War threatened, it was easy for him to vote against military action. His medals once again gave him the credibility to vote whatever way he wanted - and he wanted to vote no.

He was a confirmed dove at this point, and it was an easy position to adopt for a Senator. He'd never be accused of having blood on his hands and no one could accuse him of seeking accomodation with the Soviets or Saddam out of cowardice - his medals were proof against that.

And so it went through the Clinton years and into the 2000 election. Kerry married into even more money and enjoyed the good life of Senate perks, easy reelection and fabulous wealth.

What motivated him to run for President? Probably his long-slumbering ambition. Time was running out. If he was to truly be like JFK, he had to seek the highest office. The Cold War was over and the War on Terror was easily painted as a sequel to Vietnam. His medals were handy yet again.

Kerry was a born-again hawk. His fellow boat mates supported him (all but one) and now Vietnam veterans weren't evil, they were victims themselves, just like the duped volunteers dying in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What Kerry didn't count on was the strength of Howard Dean's anti-war campaign. It took Kerry by surprise and he hastily fell back on his dovish positions. When others called him on it, he still had the medals.

Indeed, 30 years on, he came to believe that those medals were fully justified. There was nothing to be ashamed of and if he had thrown them away (or maybe it was someone else's hard to say), that was then, this is now.

What he said wasn't as important as what he was saying. Besides, Senators change their minds all the time, what's the big deal.

That, perhaps, is what animates Kerry and explains his flip-flops. He makes an interesting character study. He isn't so much an opportunist as conflicted himself. It's all about the "nuance," you see.

At any rate, this post is overlong and we apologize for rambling. Others with more skill (and better editors) would probably improve upon it, but we think it in some small measure helps illustrate the forces shaping a man who may well lead this country.

UPDATE: Welcome Roger Simon readers!

Comments

[joseph]

Are things really that bad for rightwingers in the present that you need to start trying to channel the events of thirty-five years ago?

http://martinirepublic.com/item/mathews-vivisection-of-thurlow-lost-in-the-shadow-of-malkin-self-immolation

[George]

A very insightful story by Posse.

Unfortunately (for joseph), Kerry thought he
was channelling his 35 year-old past but he
was really watching "Apocalypse Now." A simple
mistake anyone could make -- NOT.

[Sithkitten]

Things aren't bad for rightwingers. Things are bad for Kerry supporters. Too bad the Dems didn't choose a more respectable candidate. Maybe if Kerry would stop pointing out that he's a three-time Purple Heart recipient this issue would go away. But we all know Kerry's an idiot. He'll just keep saying "Uh no, they're wrong, uh I'm right, did I mention I won three Purple Hearts."

[Childe Roland]

It isn't right-wingers who are digging this up. The Swift Vets have in no way associated themselves with any political party. They are a group of retired soldiers trying to set a farce straight. Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't have happened if Kerry wouldn't have prissed around publicly flaunting medals he never really earned.

[Buddy Larsen]

Yes, Joseph, things are that bad for us right-wingers. But, things will be better for us after Nov 2. How about you, how will things be for you after Nov 2?

[Dan]

Kerry is weird. The portrayal of his service in Viet Nam, from friend and foe alike, is that of a guy who was, if not out of control, at least willing to take big risks, to do the unexpected. His anti-war activities showed the same passion.

Then nothing. As a politician he has been below the national radar for decades. A conventional liberal senator from a safely libral state. Risk adverse, no history of leadership (within his party) on any issue. A guy willing to change his opinion at the first sign of critisism from the center/left. In short, a dilitante.

[Birkel]

Great post... from a Roger L. Simon reader

[Beldar]

Kerry was a private pilot before he signed up for the Navy. Navy pilots, of course, were heavily represented among the KIA and POWs from Vietnam; but apparently Kerry didn't seek Navy flight training. I've read that the justification he's given for not seeking a combat pilot spot is that his dad, a WW-II pilot, had told him it would "kill his love for aviation." (Apparently Poppy didn't give this same advice to W.) Could be, I guess. Kerry also had a pre-service background as a yachtsman and has written often of his great love for and affinity with "the sea." Was PT-109 in his thoughts when he signed up for the Swift Boats (at that time, about as safe a posting as the missile cruiser he was leaving)? Did he just want an independent command on his record, albeit of a smaller vessel?

Ahhh ... too many nuances for me to try to decipher.

[Bruce]

Another Roger Simon reader here.

The fictional account seems more plausible than any of the other versions.

Kerry opened the door to all of this election period fun...so should the Vietnam controversies smack his butt on the way out, he'll certainly have earned his Purple Arse.

Must get back to work on my next #1 New York Times Best Seller for Fiction: "Christmas in Cambodia".

Bruce

[TomCom]

As The Fred McMurray character says in "The Caine Mutiny": Bogart's character is "a Freudian delight. He crawls with clues."

[dennisw]

I'm Jewish and this is my insight. John Kerry's father, Richard, had two Jewish parents who converted to Catholicism before they came to America. This was a very offbeat thing to do. Offbeat enough for Richard's father to commit suicide in the Boston Copley Plaza hotel in 1920 after business reverses.

Kerry's father worked as a secret Jew (by blood that is) in the very WASPy State Department. This was a repressed life. This "otherness", aloofness and weirdness was passed onto his son.

[Alex]

It isn't right-wingers who are digging this up. The Swift Vets have in no way associated themselves with any political party. They are a group of retired soldiers trying to set a farce straight. Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't have happened if Kerry wouldn't have prissed around publicly flaunting medals he never really earned.

What a crock.

The Swift Boat guys were organized long ago by GOP operatives long ago, and they were coming out of the weeds whether Kerry mentioned Vietnam or not. To pretend he's invited this slander by preempting their BS is just plain dumb.

As for the contention that these guys have not associated themselves with any political party, that requires wilfull ignorance. All the money behind them comes from GOP sources close to Bush and Rove. It would appear these guys were even dumb enough to organize a rally with the Bush campaign in Florida

[Sithkitten]

"The Swift Boat guys were organized long ago by GOP operatives long ago..."

Yes, Alex, long, long ago in a Swift Boat far, far away...

Let me guess, they were organized when President George H. W. Bush was in office. No, let's go back further. It was when John F#$%&*@ Kennedy was in office. Whatever.

How many times is Kerry going to have his staff update or edit his Vietnam record?

[Bill Peschel]

In point of fact, none of this Swift Boat history would have mattered if Kerry didn't make it the foundation of his campaign. He's repeatedly mentioned his time in Vietnam so much it's become a running joke. He dedicated the vast majority of his acceptance speech at the convention to his military service.

In a democracy, we have an ongoing discussion of the issues. That means a lot of backing-and-forthing and raising of debate points, investigating the facts and deciding what it all means. If Kerry had stuck to telling us what he's going to do as president instead of describing what he did 35 years ago, we wouldn't be having this discussion today.

[Alex]

In point of fact, none of this Swift Boat history would have mattered if Kerry didn't make it the foundation of his campaign.

If Kerry had stuck to telling us what he's going to do as president instead of describing what he did 35 years ago, we wouldn't be having this discussion today.

And you say this because. . . .

The Swift Boat guys were formed as soon as it was clear that Kerry was going to get the nomination, 6 months before the DNC. Kerry did the smart thing in getting the truth about his record across before O'Neill and Corsi could publish their records-and-witnesses-be-damned version of history. If Kerry never mentions Vietnam, this crap still is put out by the Swift Vet guys. Why else do you suppose Rove's friend Perry shelled out $200,000?

The whole "Kerry brought this on himself" argument is a joke. The only people who benefit from NOT talking about the present are Bush and Cheney.

[Tim]

Alex, dude,

You weren't there, I wasn't there, but of those who were, the scorecard reads:

13 for VS. 264 with SBVT, BUT ALL 264 COULD BE LYING!

Delusion is not a happy thing. Keep telling yourself bed time stories about how 264 Swift Boat Vets are lying about Kerry while ONLY 13 of them are telling the truth, and your re-adjustment post election will be more difficult and painful than it needs to be.

[Tim]

Alex, dude,

Whining isn't becoming. Take it like a man.

However, I'll sign your petition to disallow all the 527's Kerry staffers are working for that Soros funded...

You do have a petition, don't you?

[Alex]

Tim,

Surely you have an intelligent response locked away somewhere inside there. You do realize those 13 guys were the guys on the same boat, and the 264 were the guys in the same country, right? Big difference.

The 13 are the guys that saw what happened, and the 264 are guys who hate Kerry for speaking out against the war. And the one guy who claims he saw what happened from another boat also claims he never saw his own citation, which supports Kerry.

[Scaramonga]

As a Viet Nam vet, I know that from the time it looked like Kerry would get the nomination that I hoped someone would speak out and tell the truth about the fraud from Boston. SVFT stepped in and took up the mantle and are doing a fine job. I remember Kerry's lying testimony, his Winter Soldier scam, and his association with Hanoi Jane Fonda.

It is now time for Kerry to answer for his traitorous behavior. The Swifties are making sure that people who don't know Kerry will find out what kind of a "hero" he really is. And yes, Kerry did bring this down on himself. Had he decided long ago to admit his mistakes, apologize to the people he slandered, and changed his treasonous ways he probably would have been forgiven. Look at Ollie North. Instead, Kerry tried to convince everyone he is a war hero and now those who served with him and whom he slandered are having their say. The American people will have little trouble deciding who is telling the truth here, although some lefties refuse to see it.

[James A. Wolf]

There is one sailent fact you got wrong; Kerry did not throw HIS medals over the White House fence. He threw other servicemens' medals. In fact he kept his originals on display in his office (where a reporter from the Globe noticed them).

Kerry has always been on the make. The joke in Boston political circles is that he is Irish every 6 years. He goes from hawk to dove as he thinks the political winds blow.

[Tim]

Alex,

The 264 served in the same unit. It's kinda like working with a guy in your same unit at work on the same floor reporting to the same boss working for the same company doing the same job BUT you don't share an office. Also, you should know that many of the SBVT's are also in the photos of "band of brothers" Kerry uses in his campaign.

If they're good enough for him to cite in his campaign photos, he can't automatically dismiss them as "not there."

Well, fairly, anyway.

[Warthog]

If a handful of middle-aged vets talking about what they saw and heard 35 years ago can make the whole Democratic Party become unglued what the hell would a Kerry administration do if the nuclear mullahs called them out?

[Alex]

*The 264 served in the same unit.*

Sure, but many, like O'Neill, didn't even serve at the same time -- Kerry's deployment ended before O'Neill got to 'Nam. My Dad was a DI at Fort Ord during the second World War, and he doesn't know jack about recruits who trained there for Korea.

*It's kinda like working with a guy in your same unit at work on the same floor reporting to the same boss working for the same company doing the same job*

Except that same unit consisted of scores of small vessels spread over hundreds of miles, so it's nothing like "working on the same floor," unless that "same floor" covers thousands of square miles. It's more like a CHP officer in Ukiah saying a CHP officer he never met in Bakersfield is a sonnuvabich.

I'll give you it was dumb of Kerry's people to use the picture.

[Nahanni]

Joseph and Alex,

Your boy decided to run on his Viet Nam record. He certainly couldn't run on his Senate record, that is for sure. Either way it does speak volumes about John Kerry's character that instead of releasing his service records like GWB has he decides to threaten and harass these vets and has EVEN gone so far as to call for their book to be BANNED. He has also had his staff go out and buy up every copy of "New Soldier" that they can get their grubby little mitts on. What is he so afraid of?????

If you support someone who calls for people to be silenced and books to be banned then shame on you. You are behaving just like the Nazis that you are so fond of accusing the Republicans of being.

As for your feigned disgust and howling about the swift boat vets getting a 100k donation from a "Texas Republican" then where is your OUTRAGE at the MILLIONS being donated and spent with the FULL approval of the DNC and Kerry campaign by organizations such as the Media Fund, ACT and Moveon.org? Where is it, hypocrites????

As for me I am going to send the swift boat vets $200 to help them keep these ads on the air.

[Stephen]

I too served in the Navy--from '67-69 as a psychiatrist at St. Alban's Naval hospital. I saw real heros among the wounded; none boasted of their war exploits a la John Kerry. I learned of horrible war crimes---by the VC and NVA. Kerry's slander of our quiet heros when he returned was, and remains, unforgivable. My psychological speculation (I emphasize speculation)--based on years of clinical experience--is that he is compelled to revive that 4 month Vietnam experience out of guilt and a need to be caught, exposed and punished. He has a powerful need to lose what he wants most--the Presidency.