Given the way the right treated John Kerry's military record, how should we treat John McCain's?

We don't have to. We're the good guys, gang....remember?

Duke

I agree, and I applaud your stand, but I suspect that you're going to get roasted but good for saying this.

My father was retired Navy and my uncle was a retired Air Force general (both deceased). I consider myself anything but "neo-con," "conservative," or even GOP, and even though I have issues with McCain, I will not sully his military record the way the GOPers did with John Kerry...



Sometimes you have to take the "high road." Since shit flows downhill, there might be just too much crap on the low one...

edited for clarity...

... and take on the dirty task of attacking McCain. She's shown she has a taste for such sewage, so let her "serve" her (alleged) Party and become the Sikh of the campaign.

Enough to honor him for that. Period.

and even though he was in a seriously deteriorated state of health kept his position in line and let his comrads go first.

Its not being a WP that makes him a hero its what he did while he was a prisioner.

We don't need to touch his military service.

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In our case it would be equally wrong and stupid. We do not start at that same point. The Democrats can not do RW tactics as well as the right. They have an infastructure that we don't. In a battle of dueling swiftboat attacks, they will win. In 2004, the swiftboat attacks would have failed if - at least when covering the convention - the media had said this goes too far speaking of the purple heart bandaids. Then said it was wrong to mock the sacrifices of thos injured, including John Kerry and pointed out that the Navy records backed him and the SBVT offered no proof against the official record. It would then have been great if they pointed out the connections to Bush. That could have led to a sober analysis of the characters of two men.

That of course didn't happen, the bandaids were treated as though they were 2004's version of silly hats covered as a novellty at every convention - good old American goofiness, rather than something despicable. Now, think 2008. Imagine that HRC attacks McCain in the mode she has attacked Obama. The RW radio stations will go nuts, followed by the cable stations and then the MSM. In the light of day - which attention brings to it - swiftboating looks unbelievable ugly. The truth may be that Bush got away with it twice - Kerry and McCain - and used other techniques against Gore - but it requires a complicit media. HRC may not have that and many of us do not want to be with that type of attack.

What bothers me the most about it is that 2006 really was a victory over swiftboating. the three vets targeted all won as people rejected it. The danger, if HRC wins, is that McCain may be smart enough to see that he does not need to do - just to stay calm and call her out sadly when she does. It would be ironic if after Kerry was the victim, the Republicans are rewarded when the country turns against swiftboating. Obama is right we need to end that type of politics.

We have little power. The power is in the hands of the few corporations who control the media.

not so much to go after McCain, but to embarrass and the expose the right wing for what they did to Kerry. Give them their comeuppance and make the apologize.

other than eating a plate of live kittens on TV, there aren't many bigger mistakes the Democratic nominee (Obama) could make.