I see by the morning paper that John Kerry is finding his tongue. Yes, he responded to Republican attacks on his fitness to serve by wondering about "those who refused to serve when they could have...." Later, he mentioned Vice-President Cheney's five deferments from military service.
Nice, but so late.
Why can't Democrats get into the gutter with Republicans?
I have yet to see Kerry, the Democratic Party or one of the left-leaning 527s buy an ad telling the story of President Bush's military record. After all, unlike the Swift Boat veterans, the Democrats could score by telling the truth.
All they have to do is recite the record - Bush ducked Vietnam (as did lots of other well-born politicos of both parties) by way of a slot in the "Champagne" unit of the Texas Air National Guard. He got the slot thanks to the influence of his dad's friends.
Yes, I know, liberals by definition are skeptics, doubters, not true believers. But that shouldn't keep them from getting into the arena with slimeballs.
No, I think their reluctance to fight back comes from other places. Like the mistaken idea that the opposition is decent, honest and conservative, which simply isn't the case. Like a faith in rationality, the kind that made German Jews
easy pickings for Adolph Hitler. Deep-down, maybe, the fear that once in the ring they will throw low blows, descending to their opponents' level. (Oh, the horror, the horror!)
Perhaps there are reasons that escape me. I would appreciate your suggestions. What seems clear to me is that if you do not slug it out, you lose.
Incidentally, the press is no help here because it's dedicated to the idea of balance, of two sides to every story. So reporters quit after conveying the pro-and-con rather than pushing to find the facts.
Heck, John McCain has bought that baloney. He told Jon Stewart last night that Kerry and Bush' both served "honorably." It is not just liberals, not just the press that shies away from truth.