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:: MAX BLACK ::

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." --C.S. Lewis

"The Swiss pocket knife of conservative thought on the web..." - Eli Kardrakian

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:: Friday, August 27, 2004 ::

Kerry's Drags Media Into Vietnam Quagmire

The web is patiently assessing the how the Kerry campaign and the media are reacting to the fallout from the Swiftboat fiasco. Powerline's Hindrocket comments on the NYTs meltdown:

"Speaking of sinking, Kerry's poll numbers have nosedived since the Swifties began to dominate the news. For the Times to report with a straight face the claim that the Vets are good for the Kerry campaign shows either cluelessness or loyalty to the Democratic Party that is astonishing even for that thoroughly-discredited newspaper.

Mark Steyn has a typically brilliant column on the whole affair, focusing largely on Kerry's mishandling of it:

"The flaw in the Senator's strategy to run for president as a plucky 24-year-old Swift boat lieutenant was an obvious one. The argument that his Swift boat command demonstrates his superb qualities of leadership falls apart once you notice his striking lack of the first ingredient of leadership: followers. Aside from the three or four Swiftees who've been persuaded to travel around the country with him, all the hundreds of other Swiftvets loathe him, and many of them are determined to stick to him like DNA to Monica's dress. This was entirely foreseeable..."

The WSJ features a John O'Neill column. In his characteristicly understated tone, Mr. O'Neill requests that Kerry refrain from continuing to malign veterans and simply respond to their charges:

"Mr. Kerry, we ask you not to repeat the same mistake you made when you returned from war: Please stop maligning your fellow veterans. Dealing with us should be easy. Just answer our charges. Produce your Vietnam journal and notes, and execute Standard Form 180 so the American people can see your complete military record--not just the few forms you put on your website or show to campaign biographers.

Instapundit comments on Admiral Schachte's belated confirmation that he was, in fact, present for Kerry's self-inflicted injury:

"KERRY REQUESTED A PURPLE HEART," says Admiral Schachte. The wound was accidentally self-inflicted, he says. ("'Kerry nicked himself with a M-79 (grenade launcher),' Schachte said in a telephone interview from his home in Charleston, S.C. He said, 'Kerry requested a Purple Heart.'")

Brett Bozell's Media Research Center is keeping an eye on big media and has a gut-wrenching, blow-by-blow account of their over-the-top coverage of Max Clelands letter- delivery 'stunt'.

It's becoming clear, Kerry's ineptitude in handling the Swiftboat veterans coupled with big-media's blatant distortion of the facts is grating on the American public. At this juncture, it seems that unless Bush flubs the convention or bombs in the debates, Kerry's done for.

:: Max 8:45 AM [+] ::
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