"What A Dumbass"

It would seem that, if politics is war by non-lethal means, then John Kerry is uniquely qualified for a commission in the Swiss navy.

-Get a load of this slate.com piece, from (presumably) a Kerry backer, on Brah-man’s appearance on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show last night:

From the moment the senator appeared and sat down on the gray sofa where, just last week, Bill Clinton basked in the audience's applause like a cat lapping up cream, Kerry's charisma was less than zero: It was negative. He was a charm vacuum, forced to actually borrow mojo from audience members. He was a desiccated husk, a tin man who really didn't have a heart. His lack of vibrancy, his utter dearth of sex appeal, made Al Gore look like Charo.

Watching Kerry strike out was especially heartbreaking given that Stewart was pitching not just softballs but marshmallows. Puffy interview marshmallows with rainbow sprinkles on them, and Kerry was letting them sail by as if he planned to get to first base on a walk.

“Made Al Gore look like Charo”? Yeeeouch.

-This was on Fox’ Grapevine tonight:

John Kerry speaking at a Martin Luther King day celebration in Virginia last year said, quote, ‘I remember well April 1968, I was serving in Vietnam. A place of violence. When the news reports brought home to me and my crew mates the violence back home and the tragic news that one of the bullets flying that terrible spring took the life of Dr. King.’

That date, of Dr. King's death, was April 4, 1968. According to Kerry's website, it was not until November 17, 1968, that he reported for duty in Vietnam.

D-oh!

-Or how about the publicity stunt he pulled this morning sending Max Cleland and Jim Rassman winging down to the President's ranch to "try and deliver a letter" to Bush protesting the Swift Boat vets ads and once again demanding that he break campaign finance law and specifically denounce them? Not only did they not get in to deliver the letter, but they received a letter instead:

Dear Senator Kerry,

We are pleased to welcome your campaign representatives to Texas today. We honor all our veterans, all whom have worn the uniform and served our country. We also honor the military and National Guard troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today. We are very proud of all of them and believe they deserve our full support.

That's why so many veterans are troubled by your vote AGAINST funding for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, after you voted FOR sending them into battle. And that's why we are so concerned about the comments you made AFTER you came home from Vietnam. You accused your fellow veterans of terrible atrocities and, to this day, you have never apologized. Even last night, you claimed to be proud of your post-war condemnation of our actions.

We're proud of our service in Vietnam. We served honorably in Vietnam and we were deeply hurt and offended by your comments when you came home.

You can't have it both ways. You can't build your convention and much of your campaign around your service in Vietnam, and then try to say that only those veterans who agree with you have a right to speak up. There is no double standard for our right to free speech. We all earned it.

You said in 1992 "we do not need to divide America over who served and how." Yet you and your surrogates continue to criticize President Bush for his service as a fighter pilot in the National Guard.

We are veterans too - and proud to support President Bush. He's been a strong leader, with a record of outstanding support for our veterans and for our troops in combat. He's made sure that our troops in combat have the equipment and support they need to accomplish their mission.

He has increased the VA health care budget more than 40% since 2001 - in fact, during his four years in office, President Bush has increased veterans funding twice as much as the previous administration did in eight years ($22 billion over 4 years compared to $10 billion over 8.) And he's praised the service of all who served our country, including your service in Vietnam.

We urge you to condemn the double standard that you and your campaign have enforced regarding a veteran's right to openly express their feelings about your activities on return from Vietnam.

Sincerely,

Texas State Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson
U.S. Representative Duke Cunningham
U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter
U.S. Representative Sam Johnson
Lieutenant-General David Palmer
Robert O'Malley, Medal of Honor Recipient
James Fleming, Medal of Honor Recipient

I’ve been saying over the past ten days that Kerry should accept the concession on 527s that Bush has been dangling in front of him, cut his losses, and try to get this Swiftboat stuff behind him. But instead he just keeps pressing and pressing and pressing, as if by sheer bullying repetition he can bulldoze the President into doing his bidding. And now he’s gotten his answer.

Mark Steyn pegged Mr. French spot-on over this past weekend - what a dumbass.