Dole Rises to Kerry's Defense Over Vietnam

WASHINGTON - Former Sen. Bob Dole isn't making much of the controversy over whether decorated Vietnam veteran John Kerry (news - web sites) threw away his medals or ribbons during a 1971 anti-war protest.


When it comes to choosing a president, "I don't think it matters," Dole, the Republican candidate for president in 1996 and a veteran whose arm was badly injured in World War II, told Fox New Sunday.


Kerry returned from Vietnam an outspoken critic of the war. For years, he has said he threw away his ribbons, not his three Purple Hearts, Bronze Star and Silver Star during a protest at the U.S. Capitol. But a tape surfaced last week of a television interview he gave shortly after the protest in which he suggested that he tossed more than just the ribbons.


"I think some of the things he said were probably not very good judgment," Dole said of the Democrat, "but he was a much younger man then without much experience in public life."


Kerry maintains that he used the terms ribbons and medals interchangeably.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&e=15&u=/ap/kerry_dole

Always tends to happen when you drop out of the game.

Nice work, Bobby.

Unfortunately the good republicans are not in charge right now. I keep telling this to people over and over again and it seems to work fairly well. Republicans are very defensive but if you acknowledge they are good people but not in charge right now they feel better and some agree the republicans in charge are not like them.

That there is this quiet, but incredibly pitched battle going on in the repuke party, between the sane people and the maniacs.

Sadly, the sane people don't look like they are winning right now. But the election cycle is still young and there is plenty of time for one of them to drop the big one, ala' "Deep Throat".

"To save the party, you have to wreck the party" and all that.

There are signs of a struggle there. Much like when they booted Gingrich.

Even if, horror of horrors, B* wins in November, people in Washington are gathering evidence needed to impeach him and his gang. It will be a sort of replay of what happened to Nixon in 1973-4: a growing costitutional crisis, an isolated executive branch thwarted at every turn, denials and doomed reprisals, and finally either impeachment or resignation. This time around there may actually be indictments of higher-ups. What will make this scenario all the more bizarre is that unlike the situation 30 years ago, the president's own party would likely be the majority in Congress and would have to do the dirty work to save their own skins. B* would be a lame duck, Rove and DeLay would be marginalized if not out of the picture and thoroughly discredited, and the Repub moderates would be more like Specter, McCain, Dole, Whitman, etc.

Of course it's foolish to try to predict anything, especially with Osama in the wings eager to let another shoe drop, or explode. In that case Tommy Franks's scenario might preempt mine, and we could have martial law. None of this is good news, and I hope none of it will happen. My point is, whether or not B* wins, his faction will lose control of the Repub party. And when that happens, we can help push the Dems back where they belong. It will be clearer to party leaders where the center really is. Or maybe it's me who's engaging in wishful thinking now.

Another veteran Republican who sees how stupid it is for the Bush campaign to string out their smears on Kerry.

Who is next?

I'm not exactly a Bob Dole fan, but the Chimp couldn't even carry Dole's jock strap without help.

and a decent fellow.

...I'm sure his politics are very different than mine, but he isn't so bitter and unfair like many in the Republican party. I saw him and Kerry having an exchange on TV, and Dole was joking that he was the last person Kerry should ask for campaign advice...

Kerry was very affable in this exchange. I like kerry!!

and blindsided him on Larry King... decent is the last word that I'd associate with Dole.

Dole, McCain are enablers. And their main difference with Junior is style not substance.

committee fined him.

If anyone had done something like that for Clinton, we would still be hearing about it.

with the "Chickenhawk" flap. Dole is smart enough to know that bringing up Kerry's Vietnam war era actions is utterly stupid considering the Chimp's AWOL. Seems like he is out there to diffuse the issue by saying we shouldn't be addressing things from 30+ years ago. It's all well and good to talk about the public tiring of negative attacks but I do have to wonder how much of it is about * getting as good as he gives.

NONE defended McCain, or Cleeland... but now the Band of Brothers is
closing ranks.

I think there is a significant change going on right now, and we are now over the tipping point

I'm tired of breathing * polluted air!
*cough* *cough* *choke*

we all do...

Lord the problem is that we still have some drones convinced that what we did we were suposed to do...

But overall, I believe we are now over the tipping point

the media focusing on Kerry throwing/not throwing away some medals/ribbons yet * and his puppet-eer weren't even there to get any military distinctions they could throw away or keep? This gets no press.

-sigh-

ouch.

LOL

:hi:

I like it here. <waves back>

avoiding service in the Natl Guard by going to Vietnam. Seriously, I think most people can see that it is pointless to bring up something from 30+ years ago, unless that is what they are building their campaign on or they have done nothing since. 30+ years ago I was in elementary school and I sure hope I am not judged by that.