Veteran Max Cleland Endorses John Kerry

Former Senator and war hero Max Cleland endorsed John Kerry for President today.

Veterans' advocate and former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia said Tuesday he is endorsing Sen. John Kerry, a fellow Democrat, for president.

Cleland, who now teaches at American University in Washington, said he believes Kerry, of Massachusetts, is the kind of person who can bring the country through its current troubles.

"He's my fellow Vietnam veteran," Cleland said in a telephone interview from his university office. "He and I bled and almost died on the same battlefield and he's got the qualities we want in a president with our country threatened from terrorists abroad and with the economy."

Max Cleland, despite losing three limbs in heroic service to his country, was called unpatriotic in the 2002 election by George W. Bush, and lost his Senate seat because of it. It was one of the more disreputable parts of the 2002 midterm elections, and the moment of clarity when it was obvious that there is no compromising with the GOP. That's why this endorsement by such a respected veteran, politician, and victim of a GOP-orchestrated smear campaign is so special.