Why Kerry May Have Been Right In Not Signing Form 180
The review of John Kerry's military records demonstrated that the charges of the Swift Boat Liars were not true. The records reviewed following the signing of the Form 180 were also found to be the same as those which Kerry released during the campaign and had posted on line.
This has raised questions as to why Kerry didn't just sign the Form 180 earlier. One reason given by Kerry was that, "The call for me to sign a 180 form came from the same partisan operatives who were lying about my record on a daily basis on the Web and in the right-wing media. Even though the media was discrediting them, they continued to lie. I felt strongly that we shouldn't kowtow to them and their attempts to drag their lies out."
The media coverage shows Kerry may have been right in not kowtowing to them. Although the records show that the charges by the Swift Boat Liars were untrue, we have yet to see any admission of this from the right. O'Neill said yesterday that he would be disappointed if Kerry's files do not contain new information but told that Boston Globe that, ''I would still have the same beliefs expressed in my book." So much for their earlier claims that signing the Form 180 would be what determines the truth.
There were bound to be consequences to signing a form which allows those who have been proven to be distorting the truth to go through records. It was inevitable they would find something new to spin. So far it has turned out to be Kerry's grades at Yale.
The media initially reported that Kerry and Bush's grades were identical, and by this afternoon the right wing media is now claiming that Kerry's grades were worse than Bush. They even make a point that one of his better grades was in French. How clever of them. They don't point out the improvement seen in Kerry's grades following the freshman year or the other activities Kerry was involved in which affected his grades. Ultimately Kerry showed his intellectual abilities during his years in public life, which mean far more than freshman college grades.
Kerry never claimed to have been a great student. In Tour of Duty he is quoted as saying, "I was a capable student, but not a very dedicated one." He also says while talking about his favorite teacher, "Gaddis was a great, great lecturer," Kerry attested. "The Lectures were all energy and knowledge. I confess that I was .... I don't know, maybe I suffered from attention-deficit disorder... never really paying full attention in (any other) class. I just had so many extracurricular things going on."
The Boston Globe reports that, "Kerry received a high honor at Yale despite his mediocre grades: He was chosen to deliver his senior class oration, a testament to his reputation as a public speaker. . . Despite his slow start, he went on to be a top student at Naval Candidate School."
The right wing noise machine is using the grades to distract from the real story that the records verify Kerry's account of his military service. There is no mention of how John Kerry has proven his intellectual superiority over George Bush in their accomplishments after leaving school. There is also no mention of George Bush's failure to release his military records.
We see the double standard of the right wing media in play. When the memos presented by Dan Rather were found to be of questionable legitimacy, they dropped the story despite evidence that the content of the memos, if not the memos themselves, were correct with regards to Bush's National Guard record. In contrast, I bet that we have not heard the last of the Swift Boat Lies.
Related Stories:
Kerry's Records Released Disputing Attacks of Swift Boat Liars
Comments on Kos's use of the release to continue his attacks on Kerry discussed in Senator Kennedy, Please Do Not Support The Kerry Bashers
This has raised questions as to why Kerry didn't just sign the Form 180 earlier. One reason given by Kerry was that, "The call for me to sign a 180 form came from the same partisan operatives who were lying about my record on a daily basis on the Web and in the right-wing media. Even though the media was discrediting them, they continued to lie. I felt strongly that we shouldn't kowtow to them and their attempts to drag their lies out."
The media coverage shows Kerry may have been right in not kowtowing to them. Although the records show that the charges by the Swift Boat Liars were untrue, we have yet to see any admission of this from the right. O'Neill said yesterday that he would be disappointed if Kerry's files do not contain new information but told that Boston Globe that, ''I would still have the same beliefs expressed in my book." So much for their earlier claims that signing the Form 180 would be what determines the truth.
There were bound to be consequences to signing a form which allows those who have been proven to be distorting the truth to go through records. It was inevitable they would find something new to spin. So far it has turned out to be Kerry's grades at Yale.
The media initially reported that Kerry and Bush's grades were identical, and by this afternoon the right wing media is now claiming that Kerry's grades were worse than Bush. They even make a point that one of his better grades was in French. How clever of them. They don't point out the improvement seen in Kerry's grades following the freshman year or the other activities Kerry was involved in which affected his grades. Ultimately Kerry showed his intellectual abilities during his years in public life, which mean far more than freshman college grades.
Kerry never claimed to have been a great student. In Tour of Duty he is quoted as saying, "I was a capable student, but not a very dedicated one." He also says while talking about his favorite teacher, "Gaddis was a great, great lecturer," Kerry attested. "The Lectures were all energy and knowledge. I confess that I was .... I don't know, maybe I suffered from attention-deficit disorder... never really paying full attention in (any other) class. I just had so many extracurricular things going on."
The Boston Globe reports that, "Kerry received a high honor at Yale despite his mediocre grades: He was chosen to deliver his senior class oration, a testament to his reputation as a public speaker. . . Despite his slow start, he went on to be a top student at Naval Candidate School."
The right wing noise machine is using the grades to distract from the real story that the records verify Kerry's account of his military service. There is no mention of how John Kerry has proven his intellectual superiority over George Bush in their accomplishments after leaving school. There is also no mention of George Bush's failure to release his military records.
We see the double standard of the right wing media in play. When the memos presented by Dan Rather were found to be of questionable legitimacy, they dropped the story despite evidence that the content of the memos, if not the memos themselves, were correct with regards to Bush's National Guard record. In contrast, I bet that we have not heard the last of the Swift Boat Lies.
Related Stories:
Kerry's Records Released Disputing Attacks of Swift Boat Liars
Comments on Kos's use of the release to continue his attacks on Kerry discussed in Senator Kennedy, Please Do Not Support The Kerry Bashers
posted by Ron Chusid at 10:49 AM
1 Comments:
Ron,
You are right on the mark again!
Surprisingly, the fact that John Kerry struggled at Yale his first year and wasn't a naturally brilliant student but ended up with Honors and being a speaker at his matriculation, shows how real Senator Kerry is! He isn't some intellectual egghead that rightwingers would like to make him out to be. He is an American who attended one of the toughest undergraduate colleges and also had an adjustment issue his first year. How many college graduates can relate to that?
I know that I can.
Again, thank you for your fine work on behalf of Senator Kerry. I share your enthusiasm, and try to learn from your insights.
Bob
Post a Comment
<< Home