Why Kerry Is Fit to Be President
John Kerry had enough conviction to sign up for the military during wartime, unlike Cheney, who had a deep conviction to avoid military service. Kerry is a veteran who understands war, and knows that the key to success is to rally allies to your cause. Bush's arrogant policies in Iraq have not worked. Cheney should spend less time attacking Kerry and more time trying to fix the Bush Administration's mess in Iraq.
- Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
He took that word and distorted and tried to use it to argue John Kerry will not keep the American people safe. He's talking about a man who still carries shrapnel in his body. He's talking about a man who spilled his blood for the United States of America. What it is is an effort to distract, not to talk about the problems here in Flint, Michigan.
Many Americans are now debating whether or not John Kerry is fit to be Commander-in-Chief. If military service and experience are to be part of the equation, it would be difficult for anyone to credibly argue against Kerry's fitness. He has fought, killed, and been wounded in the service of his country. George W. Bush? Well, I suppose one could argue that Alabama is a safer place today because of his service in that state's Air National Guard.
I mean no disrespect to those in or who have served in the National Guard (I myself was an Army Reserve Officer at one time). John Kerry did not use his connections to avoid service in Vietnam, as Our Sainted President did. Kerry volunteered to serve in Vietnam, and he served honorably and well.
Yes, Kerry came back from Vietnam as an outspoken opponent of the war, but having fought for freedom, who could deny him his right to exercise his freedom of speech?
Bob Kerrey, himself a former US Senator and a Vietnam veteran, thinks that John Kerry will make an excellent Commander-in-Chief. I happen to concur.
The former Navy personnel who are attempting to discredit Sen. John Kerry's record of service in Vietnam are doing so to argue that he is unqualified to be commander in chief. Most appear to be angry with him on account of his opposition to the Vietnam War, not his service in it. They have done a better job of damaging the reputation of the U.S. Navy than they have of damaging John Kerry....
If elected in November, John Kerry will make an exceptionally good commander in chief.
Citizens may disagree with every other position he has taken in this campaign or they may dislike the legislation he enacted during his nearly two decades of service in the U.S. Senate. But they should have no doubt about his capacity to perform the duties of commander in chief....
I am impressed by his service and by the loyalty of the band of brothers who served under his command. And as a Vietnam veteran myself, I do hope that one of our own will make it all the way to the White House before I die.
But at the top of my list of reasons for believing Kerry can and will do this most difficult of jobs is that he has the requisite sympathy for the men and women who give up many of their rights as citizens in order to defend ours. My confidence also comes from knowing that he knows what it's like to have served under leaders who lacked the moral clarity or the political backbone to sustain an effort from beginning to end.
Kerry's Vietnam experience gives him a unique perspective on the job of soldiering that George W. Bush can't begin to grasp. Kerry has been there, done that, and he understands what it is like to face enemy fire. Not that combat experience should be a prerequisite for the Presidency, but given our current War President, perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad idea.
WE DESERVE BETTER.
