Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

I really haven’t said much about the Swift Boat Veterans’ book or ad. As an old GI, I guess I just already knew these things about Kerry. There have been too many little things he’s said and done which clicked in my mind as being odd.

Matthew Yglesias has one comment that stands out:

It’s a little hard to see what could possibly be the motive for a Kerry lie on this front, which makes it plausible that there’s a reasonable explanation, but also a little freaky if there does turn out to be one.

I expect better from Matthew. It troubles me that he, as one of those on the Dark Side I view as being brighter than most, has that much trouble discerning reasons. After all, Kerry is nothing if not arrogant. One-upsmanship knows no logic but arrogance.

The Democratic Party has never really accepted the military. This whole issue interests me simply as a vehicle for studying the New Democratic Party. In my half-century plus on this planet I’ve never met a collective of people with more integrity and sense of honor than those in the military. Yet the Democrats have consistently belittled them, and found every possible example to display how the military has no integrity or sense of honor. That is, until John Kerry decided to run for President. They would now hold him up as a paragon of personal virtue.

Of course, when 250 men who served with him, commanded him, in Vietnam come out and call him a liar, people supporting Kerry’s campaign would have us all revert to the “military people are liars” mode.

I wish they would make up my mind.

Matt has posted an updated RNC Convention Blogger List. I think the quality of coverage from some of this crew will outshine anything the established media might produce. This is a lineup of quality writers, who have the drive to get through any glitz thrown their way.

I won’t watch the convention, but I’ll check these folks daily.

This analysis over at Power Line tells me the story is not going to go away, no matter what Kerry and the DNC want. Glenn Reynolds took the time to check the law library to make sure Kerry actually said such things.

For my part, I have to agree that there is far more wrong with Kerry than simple absent-mindedness. I simply shook my head at Kerry’s story when he mentioned Nixon as President in 1968. For people like him, Vietnam will always be Nixon’s War. Nixon ended it. He first tried negotiation, then bombed until the North Vietnamese returned to the table.. When they balked, he bombed again. They finally came to an agreement.

Vietnam was Johnson’s war, a war he had no heart to prosecute. He felt it would take attention away from the Great Society programs he was trying to institute. Yes, Kennedy sent the first troops in. But Johnson expanded it.

It is really odd to me that Kerry would base his campaign on his service in Vietnam. There are far too many skeletons in that closet–skeletons he knows exist. Is that the ultimate in arrogance?

And, is the ACLU AWOL?

Big Trunk tells us the DNC is not happy when their own tactics are turned against them. They claim the ad is full of lies, yet tell their own in the threat letter to television stations in hopes of getting them to back down.

I don’t remember when they threatened lawsuits against theaters for showing Michael Moore’s “documentary.”

And Glenn has more, plus some comments.

I love stuff like this. Celebrities of all stripe feel they have something important to say, and have a venue for doing so. Of course, they consider themselves to be just plain ol’ workin’ folk, so their opinion should resonate. They are so accustomed to having people hang on their every word, they sincerely believe they have the answers.

In an unprecedented series of concerts in nine swing states, more than 20 musical acts – including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks – will perform fund-raising concerts one month before the Nov. 2 election in an effort to unseat President Bush.

Now, I don’t doubt their sincerity. I’m sure they believe in this cause. But let’s think about how celebrities support a cause just a second.

They donate money, of which they have plenty, or they supply their name and perform. A simple donation doesn’t get them much in return except a tax break and a letter from some organizer–maybe a photo op or two. But putting on a performance–man, that’s the best. They receive adulation from their fans, which is their primary reason for doing what they do, they get some kind of tax break for their effort, and the get lots of publicity. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

This is not intellectual honesty. These are folks who have much more spare time than any of us, and could really get involved and work at this if they were sincere about helping. Sincerity of belief seldom translates to commitment for any of us, and especially not with this group. How many are actually putting in time at a phone bank to support their candidate? Do any of them go door to door to hand out literature? Is there one of them willing to put his name on the line and run for office?

Ben Afleck is doing far more than any of these folks, and all he does is ride around in style with the Kerry campaign.

I hope Bush wins in a landslide this year simply because it would make some of these folks shake their heads and wonder where their influence went. “Shut up and Sing” is a current book title, and I think it says it all. All I would add is, “Or actually do something.”

Liberal Larry has the truth on Dubya.

Always good for a laugh.

Matt Margolis, who blogs at BlogsForBush, has been invited to participate in the RNC Convention in NYC. I’ve added a link to the sidebar for those of you interested in following the happenings at Madison Square Garden.

The DNC Convention went off with only a few protests, although some apparently got a little testy. The standard giant papier-m