Bogey asked Birdie and myself why military people like Bush more than Kerry. He asked after Birdie sent this photo from Baghdad:
One of Birdie’s troops put the sticker on the vehicle at a check point.
Bogey is a seeker of truth. My response to him follows, in somewhat edited form.
The problem people have understanding this is that Bush and company have a strategy rather than a plan. Plans change, and must be flexible. That’s what you see. The White House is responsible for the strategy, not the plan. This is the problem we ran into during Vietnam–the White House wanted to run plans and tactics, and had no strategy at all.
My problem with Kerry, from all the research I’ve done, is that he went to Vietnam as a last resort when he wasn’t allowed a deferment to go to Europe. He went specifically to get a few medals and come home. I would guess this was at Ted Kennedy’s recommendation, as Kerry was involved with the Clan all his life. On returning, he ran for Congress and lost. He then took up the anti-war crusade.
After all that, I could ignore everything. Unfortunately, he went to the extreme as a way of getting known so he could, again, run for office. When he presented lies to Congress and accused everyone in the military of war crimes, he proffered assistance to the North Vietnamese in their propaganda war. That is not simply “speaking out against the war.” I also wonder how much value to place on his medals. What I’ve read of his actions tells me he did nothing more than what he was expected to do. Nothing heroic except putting himself in danger. That’s what military people do. In a war, they do it daily. Medals are awarded for “exceptional” bravery. I haven’t seen anything that merits that adjective.
Kerry’s entire life has been spent in pursuit of this goal–the Presidency, the next JFK (which is how he liked to be referred to at one time).
As to Bush’s service in the Texas ANG, I would assume he had assistance in getting a flying slot. Going through the Guard was the best chance to do that because these are direct postings, unlike active duty where selection is made after you join. When people claim he did this to avoid Vietnam, they don’t grasp that pilot training is more than a year long. When he began, there was reasonable expectation of going to Nam. In fact, I would think that being a fighter pilot in combat would be a goal for someone with a father who had been the youngest pilot in the Navy during WWII. I have seen comments from former commanders that Bush actually requested assignment to Vietnam, but was turned down because he hadn’t yet acquired enough experience. I don’t know whether these are true, but I had the same thing happen to me. And, as with Bush, the drawdown began before I was eligible to go.
I had no opinion on Kerry until I began looking into his history recently. I have no use for him as a leader of any kind. I don’t believe, after all these years, he is capable of making a decision. I also worry that if he is elected, we have basically elected Kennedy–something he couldn’t achieve on his own.
Bush did not spend his life in pursuit of politics. His brother Jeb was the one the family all expected to eventually run for President. I don’t know what caused him to run for Governor, or for President. I disagree with him on many things. But two where I agree are of prime concern to me this election. And in these two things, he and Kerry differ as opposites. They are the War on Terrorists, and Supreme Court nominations.
Bush has nominated judges who read the Constitution, and rule in the spirit of the document as written. Kerry, and many others, want judges who will rule based on what they think the Constitution would read if written today. It is a living document, but it must get changed only in the way it says it can be changed.
Bush views terrorists as warring combatants. Kerry views them as criminals. The legal approach cannot work unless every country in the world works with us. They will not. Germany, a supposed ally, just released (within the last year) two terrorists, convicted by jury, because a judge didn’t feel the evidence was strong enough. What was the point of having a jury hear the case? And who would have arrested bin Laden or Hussein? Or their minions?
No representative government in history (that I am aware of) ever attacked another representative government. Bush’s strategy is to extend this form of government, whatever it’s mechanics, to the rest of the world. I think it is a worthwhile endeavor, and something that has never been attempted.
After spending a lot of time looking into Kerry’s background, I would never consider voting for him. Given a choice between him and Dean, Dean would easily be my choice. I might even consider Al Sharpton! The only democrat in the group who could do the job is Joe Lieberman, and the party faithful didn’t want him. That concerns me. It says the Democratic Party leaders are out of touch with the majority in this country. When Ed Koch endorses Bush, you have to pay attention.
Military people do not, in general, determine their vote based on whether the candidate is a veteran. People draw that conclusion because most military folks did not like Clinton. The reason is one far more important to many military personnel: respect. Clinton made no effort to hide his disgust of anyone who was stupid enough to join the military. My paraphrase is very close to his words. They also disliked him because he dishonored his oath, and lied. In the military, lying is the kiss of death for a career. Military professionals take integrity very seriously. That’s one reason we, as a group, get pissed when someone accuses Bush of lying.
Many people were in Vietnam. Many served with far more distinction than Kerry. As a veteran of that era, I can say it is not a major issue for me one way or the other. Many vets were drafted rather than enlisting because a draftee served only two years instead of four. If you preferred not to go, you took your chances with the draft even though you weren’t anti-war. But that doesn’t mean they should be President. Bob Kerry (former Senator and MoH recipient) wasn’t, in my opinion, presidential material. Neither is John McCain. Democrats would love to see him join the ticket because he was a POW. Yet he got into the Naval Academy because his father and grandfather were admirals. Would those who complain about Bush be willing to admit that? I doubt it.
So, Kerry’s duty gains him little, if anything, with the military. Bush’s service gains or loses him little. The prime issue for those who might really care will be those who see Kerry’s military service as opportunistic rather than honorable.
In my opinion, he has many more negatives in the past 30+ years which would override anything positive I might have seen.
