Libertarian Leanings

I predict "bounce"

I listened to the speeches by John McCain and Rudy Giuliani last night. I hadn't intended to stay up for them, but once things started I just kept watching, occasionally switching between MSNBC, Fox, and CNN. The speeches were more powerful than I imagined they would be. I've felt that McCain's support for Bush has been lukewarm at best, but he hit a home run for the President last night. He eloquently and forcefully made the point that the war on terror left no choices.

However just the cause, we should shed a tear for all that is lost when war claims its wages from us.

But there is no avoiding this war. We tried that, and our reluctance cost us dearly. And while this war has many components, we can't make victory on the battlefield harder to achieve so that our diplomacy is easier to conduct.

[...]

The years of keeping Saddam in a box were coming to a close. The international consensus that he be kept isolated and unarmed had eroded to the point that many critics of military action had decided the time had come again to do business with Saddam, despite his near daily attacks on our pilots, and his refusal, until his last day in power, to allow the unrestricted inspection of his arsenal.

Our choice wasn't between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war.

It was between war and a graver threat. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not our critics abroad. Not our political opponents.

And certainly not a disingenuous film maker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace when in fact it was a place of indescribable cruelty, torture chambers, mass graves and prisons that destroyed the lives of the small children held inside their walls.

He also said something I'll think we'll hear more of as the campaign progresses. In a sharp dig at John Kerry and his charges of unilateralism, McCain put the onus where most of us believe it belongs.

They stress that America needs the help of her friends to combat an evil that threatens us all, that our alliances are as important to victory as are our armies.

We agree.

And, as we've been a good friend to other countries in moments of shared perils, so we have good reason to expect their solidarity with us in this struggle.

But his most powerful words came at the end of the speech where he rallied Americans to support their President. It was an emotional moment, as John McCain with tears in his eyes, delivered this.

Our adversaries are weaker than us in arms and men, but weaker still in causes. They fight to express a hatred for all that is good in humanity.

We fight for love of freedom and justice, a love that is invincible. Keep that faith. Keep your courage. Stick together. Stay strong.

Do not yield. Do not flinch. Stand up. Stand up with our President and fight.

We're Americans.

We're Americans, and we'll never surrender.

They will.

I think its worthwhile to compare this speech to the one given by McCain's fellow Vietnam Veteran, Senator John Kerry. While McCain summoned our patriotism and called on us to stand fast and fight, Kerry wraps himself in patriotism to shield himself from criticism. I will say it once again. I'm convinced that if John Kerry is elected he will stop fighting the war on terror as early as politically feasible.

A Must Read

Arthur Chrenkoff is an Australian blogger who writes at www.chrenkoff.blogspot.com. He has a lengthy column entitled Half Full in today's Opinion Journal. This is the real deal about Iraq. Follow the links.

As the RNC begins...

As the Republican National Convention is about to begin, I think it's appropriate to revisit Thomas Lifson's February 3, 2004 essay in The American Thinker.

By reputation, the President was a very avid and skillful poker player when he was an MBA student. One of the secrets of a successful poker player is to encourage your opponent to bet a lot of chips on a losing hand. This is a pattern of behavior one sees repeatedly in George W. Bush’s political career. He is not one to loudly proclaim his strengths at the beginning of a campaign. Instead, he bides his time, does not respond forcefully, a least at first, to critiques from his enemies, no matter how loud and annoying they get. If anything, this apparent passivity only goads them into making their case more emphatically.

The retrospective view gives the illusion that W has goaded the Democrats, and Mainstream Media for that matter, into betting all their chips on the losing hand that is John Kerry. As we watch the wheels come off the Kerry campaign, I can't help but wonder how is it possible that Kerry did not foresee the the downside of his Vietnam campaign strategy. Before this is through even Mainstream Media is going to have to disavow Kerry or risk being fully exposed in their dishonesty and deceit.

Vietnam Vets visit Southington

Vietnam Veterans for Truth visited Southington, Connecticut this past week to raise money for a rally on September 12th in Washington, DC. The story by Jacqueline Manning appeared on the front page of the Southington Observer.

"We have known Kerry is a liar for the last 33 years, and we are truly a band of brothers," said Larry Bailey, president of VVT and retired captain of the U.S. Navy.

Last Monday, Bailey, a number of Vietnam veterans and many distinguished guests gathered at the Aqua Turf for a benefit gala to support VVT's upcoming rally on Sept. 12 at the nation's Capital in Washington, DC. At that time, the group will demonstrate its disapproval of Kerry as a potential commander in chief of the United States.

Tickets to the gala were $150 a person, and Bailey stated he was thrilled that the organization raised more than $5000.

[...]

Among the guests in attendance was author Dr. Jerome Corsi, co-author of "Unfit for Command," the current #1 bestseller on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

[...]

One of the honored guests was Bill Lupetti, a Vietnam veteran and photographer who stumbled across a picture of Kerry that is hanging prominently in the American War Protesters section of the War Remnants Museum in Saigon.

"When I first posted the photo on myfamily.com, some people thought it was a fraud. So I took another photo holding up a dated Vietnamese newspaper next to it," he said. Lupetti's photos are featured in "Unfit for Command".

[...]

The keynote speaker for the event was Dexter Lehtinen, a former U.S. attorney who prosecuted Manuel Noriega.

[...]

Lehtinen served as an army paratrooper and was severely injured during the Vietnam War.

"The first time I ever heard of John Kerry, I was lying in a hospital bed with my jaw wired shut and a gaping hole where my cheekbone had been. That was when I heard Kerry's testimony before U.S. Congress that American soldiers were committing these unhuman atrocities in Vietnam, I just lay there in disbelief," Lehtinen said.

"This is not about wounded pride of Vietnam veterans. Kerry served four months before he quit and never once served a tour. That's undisputed. He received three scratches to get out of the army, never spent one day in the hospital and he has the guts to call himself a volunteer," Lehtinen said.

According to Lehtinen, Kerry would not sign the release of his military record, leaving him to wonder what Kerry is hiding.

Prior to his speech, Lehtinen held up a laminated telegram stating the injuries he sustained in the Vietnam War. "Where are yours, Senator Kerry?" he challenged.

The Southington Observer is a local small town paper. It doesn't have a web site that I could find. I ran across it in a gas station convenience store as I was passing through. The headline "Vietnam vets against Kerry visit Southington" grabbed my attention, so I bought one.

Clearly, this is an issue that is not going to go away soon. I had been inwardly speculating that we might expect some kind of apology from Kerry in the not to distant future, an apology for the pain his 1971 testimony caused other Vietnam veterans. I think it's unlikely now. It would be too little, too late, and these veterans are not looking for an apology. It would reinforce the Kerry reputation for saying and doing whatever furthers his political ambition of the moment. Finally, it would do nothing to refute his now growing reputation of being dumber than a box of rocks. Vietnam as the crown jewel of the Kerry Presidential campaign represents a strategy of inspirational stupidity.

Reaction in Baghdad

Iraq lost to Italy in the Bronze Medal soccer game in Athens yesterday. While the loss to Itlay was disappointing it was seen for what it was, the culmination of a hugely successful Olympic effort by Iraq, itself a victory.

As most of the crowd quietly filed out of the hotel lounge after Italy beat Iraq 1-0 in the Olympic bronze-medal match, Fadil Jabel was willing to proclaim the outcome a victory of sorts.

"It's not a poor performance," said the 24-year-old, puffing apple-scented tobacco on a water pipe. "It's not a small thing that we won fourth place."

[...]

The crowd jumped, cheered and banged on tables for Iraqi successes: a blocked shot, a stolen ball.

"There is no fear," said Wasim Sadoun, 23, a ventilation contractor. "The most important thing is the players are not afraid. So they're taking risks."

Gone are the days when Uday Hussein, the dictator's son and head of Iraq's Olympic Committee, would micromanage the team's strategy and punish players who made mistakes with imprisonment or torture.

After one player missed a goal with a high ball, Sadoun wryly noted that under the old regime, "Even if they win, he would go to prison. Now he would be thinking only of prison."

The consensus was that, whatever the match's outcome, the team was improving. The equipment is better. New blood is joining the team. And the players are more daring.

"This is a first for us," Jabel said. "We are playing for a medal against a European team. In the future, I am sure we will get better, day by day."

Democratic Presidential Candidates

Accidental Verbosity links to Francis W. Porretto of Eternity Road who has an analysis of all the Democrats who have run for President since 1964 including Lord Kerry.

This year, the Democratic candidate is a man so unintelligent that he’s made his 4.5 months of Vietnam War duty the crown jewel of his campaign, even though:

His post-Vietnam record is of slander against his fellow veterans and outright collaboration with the enemy;

He had to have known that parading as a war hero would raise many memories of that time in the minds of others who served alongside him and disapproved of either his deeds in Vietnam or his subsequent defamations of the American war effort;

He had to have known that, once questions were uttered about his Vietnam recountings, anything less than complete candor would make him look like a liar and a fraud, who moreover had betrayed his country in the aftermath for political advantage.

He begins with Lyndon Johnson about whom he says:

1964: Johnson was intelligent and politically canny but vain, self-seeking and without principles;

He concludes his list with this assessment of Lord Kerry:

2004: Kerry is profoundly unintelligent, politically naive, extremely vain, self-righteous, tends to blame others for his missteps, will say or do anything he thinks might bring him political advantage (but is usually wrong about that), and will not stand his ground if his opponent weathers the storm of his vituperation.

I think he's being generous, but I leave it to you to decide for yourself. Read the rest.

Iraq plays for the Bronze today

There is some understandable sentiment running against the Iraqi soccer team as they go for the Bronze today against Italy. I still hope they win, even though certain Iraqi players view George Bush as a criminal and Amercans as the occupation. Their opportunity to broadcast that sentiment to the world from the medal stand will make themselves look like silly ingrates, and that ought to play beautifully for the President's re-election chances.

Lord Kerry is the issue

Via Instapundit I found my way to Scarborough Country where Bob Dole had this to say.

President Bush to his credit, and I wish John Kerry would follow suit, said, “Let’s stop all these so-called 527 ads, all these soft money ads that have been so critical. Let’s talk about the issues.”

The interesting part of this is that Kerry, by making Vietnam the centerpiece to his campaign, has made himself the issue. He has made it necessary for voters to decide, not just whether they like his positions, but to wonder whether or not those really are his positions. I've said this before: I'm convinced that if Kerry gets elected, he will stop fighting the war on terror as early as politically feasible. He will very likely take the fact of his election as the mandate to do it.

Iraq plays Italy for the bronze

I'm disappointed to see that the Iraqi soccer team lost to Paraguay 3 to 1 yesterday. They made a great run at the gold, but it will be Paraguay vs. Argentina for the gold on Saturday while Iraq faces Italy for the bronze on Friday. Congratulations to the Iraqis!

New Blog

Warren is a Vietnam Vet from Indiana who just recently started blogging. He's put up quite a lengthy post, Vietnam According to Warren, that provides some historical perspective. As an Air Force veteran who got only as close to Vietnam as the Philippines, I have admiration and gratitude for the sacrifices of anyone who actually fought in Vietnam, including John Kerry. That doesn't mean I think he would make a good president. In fact, his words and his voting record convince me that a Kerry administration would halt the fight against terrorism as early as politically possible.

Update: Warren has corrected me. He is a Vietnam Era veteran, which no doubt is something I should have picked up on. My apologies for the misunderstanding. This fact does not in any way detract from the historical perspective that he provides on his site. It's worth the visit.