Cleland relishes his 'resurrection

<snip>

Cleland left both legs and an arm in Vietnam and struggled to recover his life. Two years ago, he took what he has called his "second grenade" when he lost his U.S. Senate seat after one term.

Politics, the thread of Cleland's life, suddenly was cut. He was bitter. He talked heatedly about the "slime machine" that took him down. He went into a deep depression.

Tonight, he'll take the stage in one of the most coveted of convention roles to introduce the party's nominee for president, a man he calls his "brother and closest personal friend," John Kerry.

<snip>

When Cleland battled to retain his Senate seat in 2002, Kerry and other Vietnam vets in Congress rallied around him. They cried foul when Cleland's Republican opponent, Saxby Chambliss, ran an ad that showed pictures of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and challenged Cleland's record on homeland security. Chambliss later pulled the ad.

The race gained national attention, and Bush visited Georgia five times to stump for Chambliss. While Cleland had been favored in opinion polls going into Election Day, the outcome wasn't even close. He and his staff were shocked and devastated.

more...

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/election/0704nation/29demcleland.html
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"Chambliss. While Cleland had been favored in opinion polls going into Election Day, the outcome wasn't even close."

Too bad we have to think that way in the USA.

But I'm so happy for Max Cleland and his "resurrection". Ususally when a door closes like that ..a window of opportunity flies right open!

machines after they had been vetted. The Republicans took the governor's chair also in what had seemed a Dem shoe-in...the first Pug guv since Reconstruction. There was definitely cheating going on with Diebold. I am thrilled that Michael Moore is spending much of Oct. in Florida. But he cannot be everywhere.

But how did Cynthia McKinney win without a runoff?

Juan Williams did a story about him, including some biographical info. He mentioned Ann Coulter's outrageous lie that Cleland blew himself up back at the base, and even included a quote from her saying some stupid spew like "If he was just bragging in a bar, it would be one thing. But since he's talking about it publicly, I felt I had to speak out." He then had Cleland's response, in which Max said basically that Coulter is full of crap, never served in the military, and might want to read a book or two about Vietnam if she wants to get her history straight.

Of course, the right-wing smear machine will go back into high gear to try to make Cleland look bad, so have your facts ready. From The State newspaper, Columbia, SC (Sun., Nov. 09, 2003):

S.C. veteran’s revelation changed a life

Batesburg-Leesville man surprised ex-senator by correcting an old war story

By CHUCK CRUMBO

Staff Writer

All Steve Price remembers about an explosion on a hill in Vietnam is helping a badly wounded soldier.

“There was blood all over. I thought he was dead,” said Price, who was an infantryman in the Marine Corps back in 1968.

Three decades later Price — now a 54-year-old resident of Batesburg-Leesville — learned the soldier not only survived but went on to serve as head of the Veterans Administration and a U.S. senator. The soldier was Max Cleland of Georgia.

“I was aware of Max Cleland. I had seen him on TV,” said Price. “But I never had any idea it was the same person who was on the same hill where I was back in 1968.”

Price concedes “it’s a pretty wild story.” But it’s also illustrative of the coincidences of life in the military, something the Midlands and the nation will reflect on when Veterans Day is celebrated Tuesday.

On April 4, 1968, Price was with the Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines.

Charlie Company was opening up Route 9 going into Khe Sanh, near the demilitarized zone between the then-separate North and South Vietnams, and had secured a mountaintop.

Cleland, a captain in the Army Signal Corps, and his team flew by helicopter to the hill that Price and Charlie Company held to set up a radio relay tower.

When the helicopter landed, Cleland and his soldiers jumped off and the helicopter immediately ascended.

Then there was an explosion.

more...http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/7218941.htm

Max Cleland, standing with a weapon, next to a vehicle with a sign that says "Follow Me" - circa 1965-1968

(edited to add date of newspaper article)

...we've got to confront fiercely and consistently any spineless, judgment-less toady who gives Ann Coulter a soapbox to stand on. That's the journalistic equivalent of smearing feces on the office walls and calling it redecorating. Why should USA Today even consider giving her a column for the convention coverage? Why should NPR give room for this spewing non-journalist?

And the supposedly top-ranked papers are no better. Did you read Howard Kurtz's column today? His printing of the pundits' comments regarding Teresa Heinz Kerry's speech read like a transcript of cafeteria or water cooler gossip. Basically, most of it was bitching from people like Fred Barnes and David Frum (!) and Morton Kondracke. Kondracke even opined that Heinz Kerry would be hard to sell against Laura Bush. What has addled Kondracke's brain? We're supposed to prefer the wan smiles of someone who stood by while her husband demanded the zeroing out of funding for Reading Is Fundamental and community policing? What is Mort smoking or snorting?

If there's ANYONE who deserves to introduce Kerry this year, it's Cleland. And some would say Kerry should introduce Cleland. What happened to that man two years ago is a g.d. crime.