John Kerry's Vietnam Gamble

Chuck Busch

In 1992, during draft-dodger Bill Clinton’s first bid for the White House, John Kerry regretted that Vietnam was “inserted into the campaign” and that this would “reopen the wounds” of that war. Again at the start of this campaign, he accused President Bush of exploiting Vietnam for “personal political gain.” So why would John Kerry reverse (flip-flop) his stance so completely and focus the public’s attention on such a bitter and divisive period in America’s history as was the long past Southeast Asian war? This is especially puzzling, considering the serious concerns raised about his brief four month’s duty as a lieutenant commanding a swift boat on the Mekong Delta and the quality of the medals he received. More curious still is how incongruous it is for him to now claim honor for his dubious actions in a war that he condemned and disavowed immediately after the leaving the service.

What subtle advantage did the Kerry campaign hope to gain despite the risk of embarrassment to the Senator by emphasizing this early part of his biography over his time as lieutenant governor under Michael Dukakis or his twenty years in the Senate? Regrettably political conquests in this media intensive world are being conducted more at the psychological rather than intellectual level. What is being foisted upon anxious minds in a manipulation of the national psyche? The image that John Kerry has so finely crafted and nuanced by his incessant references to his younger more vigorous and eloquent self is of the noble hero emerging from that “ignoble” war.

There are many reasons to compel him to do so. Primarily, the country is at war and Kerry must appear militaristic even though his entire record since leaving the service is dovish and weak on national security. His Vietnam medals are quite possibly the only tangible identifiable “accomplishments” in his long and undistinguished career in public life. Also, forcing voters to look backward in time distracts them from seeing he has no vision for the future. Most insidious though is the seeming attempt by leftists in the Democrat regime to resurrect the fears and sense of failure associated with the Vietnam struggle to create anxiety about the Iraqi operation so as to set Kerry up as the man to lead the country out of this supposed Bush-created unpleasantness. “Remember the WTC” is not likely to appear on any Kerry bumper stickers.

Exaggerating Kerry’s Vietnam experience was a very risky political gamble may prove to be his undoing. John Kerry’s questionable record in the service and his disservice to his “band of brothers” after departing prematurely from duty is becoming more widely known thanks to true heroes like the “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.” Will the ruse succeed? Will the people make their choice in November based on facts not fiction, out of reason not fearful reaction?