Where Are The Democrats?

[britinusa]

I've been following this SwiftVet story very closely, and I don't recall seeing the likes of Daschle, Pelosi, the Clintons or even Ted "The Swimmer" Kennedy out there defending Kerry.
The counterattack against the SwiftVets is being engaged by the Kerry campaign and their media lackeys. Where are the Beltway Dems? Of course, Tom Harkin entered the fray and made a fool of himself, but I can't think of anyone else. Am I wrong about this?

 

[insein]

They see the political ship taking on water and have long since grab a lifeboat and skedaddled. When this thing goes down, they don't want their names tied to it.

 

[Annie]

I've been following this SwiftVet story very closely, and I don't recall seeing the likes of Daschle, Pelosi, the Clintons or even Ted "The Swimmer" Kennedy out there defending Kerry.
The counterattack against the SwiftVets is being engaged by the Kerry campaign and their media lackeys. Where are the Beltway Dems? Of course, Tom Harkin entered the fray and made a fool of himself, but I can't think of anyone else. Am I wrong about this?

Harkin is now having problems of his own:

Excerpt:

http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040824/OPINION01/408240301/1035/OPINION

While the Bush-haters just love it, Harkin's statement is drawing considerable condemnation from cooler heads. Even many veterans, who may think someone was a coward, have the decency not to go around publicly accusing people of it.

Even some media liberals are wincing at his speech, which he's not retracted. Also, many political strategists believe Harkin's statement does nothing to help Kerry win the votes of undecided Americans, many of whom are put off with such negativity in politics.

By making the statement, Harkin:

• Helped keep alive the story questioning Kerry's service in Vietnam. That story surfaced when former swift-boat crewmen, who served in Vietnam at the same time as Kerry, were featured in a TV commercial attacking him as unfit to lead the country. Polls show that ad and the story have hurt Kerry - he went from dead even with Bush among veterans following the Democratic National Convention to an 18-point deficit today.

Kerry has been forced to defend his Vietnam record, rather than tout it. He is "off-message," and has launched a TV ad saying Bush backers are behind the attack. (Which states the obvious.) It's also not the story. The story is in getting to the bottom of Kerry's record in the war - or at least coming up with enough information to allow voters to make their own decisions about who is telling the truth.

• Made himself radioactive. He'll forever be known as the guy who called the vice president a name, one that's across the line for most people.

• Doesn't represent Iowa. Most Iowans are more civil than Harkin reflects. They would never call someone a "coward" in public. It is a loaded, highly charged word unworthy of a U.S. senator.

• Hurt Iowa. The remark will make it even more difficult for the senator to work with Republicans. Even if Bush and Cheney lose, he will still have GOP senators to deal with. And who in any Bush administration is going to help Harkin obtain grants or programs that benefit Iowa? He already has trouble doing that.

• Hurt himself. Harkin doesn't have to seek re-election until 2008, so perhaps he figures everyone will have forgotten about this remark by then. Not so. The comment has moved the political seismograph more than anything else he's ever said. Republicans won't forget it, and Harkin has assured himself that his foes will come at him harder than ever. His military record - including whether he hyped his own service as a Navy pilot - will again be an issue.

• Is inconsistent. Did the senator ever call Bill Clinton a "coward" because he used deferments to avoid service in Vietnam? No. While Harkin had little time for Clinton in their 1992 presidential campaign, he never carried his words this far. Did Harkin ever call Howard Dean a "coward" for doing much the same thing as Cheney? No. Harkin endorsed him for the presidency. John Edwards didn't enlist. Neither did Tom Vilsack.

Is every American who didn't enlist or who used a legal deferment to avoid the draft or Vietnam a "coward"? Harkin himself was never in combat.

In politics, as in life, one's strengths often turn into one's weaknesses. Harkin's charm has been that he's a fighter. In this case, he carried it a click too far.

It's also worth noting that this dispute is largely an argument among veterans over who did what back in Vietnam. It has no bearing on our kids' future. It's so old it tells us nothing about the character of our leaders today. All these veterans - Harkin, Bush's friends from the swift boats and Kerry - need to step back and look at just what this caustic debate is doing to the campaign.

Are all these veterans still serving the country when they engage in arguments like this?

 

[William Joyce]

I've been following this SwiftVet story very closely, and I don't recall seeing the likes of Daschle, Pelosi, the Clintons or even Ted "The Swimmer" Kennedy out there defending Kerry.

Clinton couldn't quite tell what was going on because he was so badly wounded by a Vietcong rocket blast that he lost consciousness for the entire swift boat episode.