At rare moments, candidates on the campaign trail make statements that defy rational thought, where the only possible reaction one can have is to wonder, slackjawed, what the candidate was thinking when he spoke. John Kerry gave us one of those priceless moments yesterday, when he assured the American people that he would go after the terrorists -- exactly as he went after the Viet Cong!

Democratic presidential nominee and Vietnam War veteran John Kerry tried to burnish his national security credentials on Saturday by vowing to hunt down terrorists with the same energy he used to pursue the Viet Cong. ...

"With the same energy ... I put into going after the Viet Cong and trying to win for our country, I pledge to you I will hunt down and capture or kill the terrorists before they harm us," Kerry said. "And we will wage a war on terror that makes America proud and brings the world to our side."

Okay, let's recap. John Kerry went after the Viet Cong for only one-third of his commitment, bailing out by using a little-known regulation that allowed a reassignment after three in-theater Purple Hearts, which he collected for uncommonly minor wounds (and at least one of them under less-than-honest circumstances). He was the only Swiftboat officer to leave the theater before one year without suffering a disabling injury. After his return, he attacked the United States and its soldiers in Vietnam, publicly siding with the Viet Cong and denouncing our efforts to "go after" them as mass murder. He rejected the fight against the Viet Cong so thoroughly that he organized massive demonstrations against it, even publicly repudiating his own service by tossing his medals/ribbons/whatever over the White House fence.

In fact, this is one campaign promise that Kerry has already kept. After supporting the war on terror and the Iraq phase, he has backpedaled for a year. First he voted to cut off funding to the troops, and since he has called the war in Iraq the "wrong war at the wrong time in the wrong place," a "grand diversion" that nonetheless he'd like to get several countries to commit troops towards to replace American soldiers and Marines.

He's implementing the same playbook he used in the fight against the Viet Cong now. Kerry undermines public support for the war, claims it's unnecessary, fights to cut off funding and demands that the US retreat from the combat theaters. His statement yesterday may be the most ironically truthful position he's taken all year long.

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» Didn't they tell him Vietnam references weren't t from The Unabrewer
I thought so. Then why does he promise to chase terrorists with the same energy he put into chasing the Viet Cong? [Read More]

Tracked on October 24, 2004 11:11 AM

» A rare moment of truth from Kerry? from Airborne Combat Engineer
"With the same energy ... I put into going after the Viet Cong and trying to win for our country, I pledge to you I will hunt down and capture or kill the terrorists before they harm us ..." .... [Read More]

Tracked on October 24, 2004 11:27 AM

» D'Oh! from INDC Journal
I've always rejected the notion that John Kerry is an "intellectual," and this seems to go a long way towards dispelling the notion: To Bush-bashers, it may be the most infuriating revelation yet from the military records of the two... [Read More]

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» Kerry's: My Terrorism Strategy the Same as My 'Nam Strategy from rightpundit.com
On Saturday John Kerry gave what I believe will turn out to be the most accurate statement of how he would pursue terrorists if he were elected President: Democratic presidential nominee and Vietnam War veteran John Kerry (news - web sites) tried to... [Read More]

Tracked on October 25, 2004 12:24 AM