Uh no… the National Guard, air or otherwise, did not let people out early because Vietnam was ending. I served then and they were defiantly not letting active duty people out either. If someone had actually served a full tour in Vietnam, they might have let them out a little early, but only a month or two. Reserves and Guard, never. I lived it, I was there, maybe I was, as you say, “stupid”, but I was certainly THERE.

LOL They weren't withdrawing in 1968. Seems Tet began on January 31, 1968. Ke sahn wasn't at picnic in 1968. By joining the guard in 1968 W was able to avoid Vietnam for 6 years…

Well ask John if he remembered every checkmark on every form.

That's just stupid. At the time nobody cared. They were over enlisted after withdrawing from Vietnam and they would let anyone go for any reason. He was a pilot of an obsolete plane with to little time left to even start to retrain, why would they of kept him? I don't give him huge props, thou being a jet fighter pilot is cool, but there is no skeleton in that closet.

@ Father TIme, I was under the impression GWB skipped out of ANG early ( thus not having enough air time) to go work on someone's campaign.

@DLS- Given the fact that our nation is one of the most industrially developed and least “green” I think it is imperative we get on the stick vis a vis global climate change. Global Warming is a misnomer- it doesn't neccessarily mean your particular area is getting hotter. There's 58 million square miles of this planet affected, hence “Global”. You think our setting off tons of nukes in the 40s and 50s , along with Russia and CHina had no cumulative effect,along with the polution? There's an area in the Pacific Ocean that is the equivalent ofa landfill, plastic junk that's just floating around killing wildlife.

Bush dodged combat via connections, Kerry actually served in combat, was shot at and killed people, end of story. There is no right or left side to this, that's what happened.

To me that's a stretch of “far,” but that word (like “wing”) is loosely defined, I admit.

That so many of us were disgusted with specifics (yes, waterboarding is torture; yes, while Congress playing games, the White House didn't have to deliberately play cooperation-withholding games the way it did, either), doesn't mean we don't recognize a revanchist political attack when it is happening.

Obama is siding with the far left (as he did publicly to push the awful climate bill, and with health care). Someone else has noted that it may be a sop to the far left (“public option or nothing”) before he makes concessions on health care (including with the public option). But this currently reeks of more siding with the far Left as has happened in other ways this year.

We shouldn't politicize torture and the far-left pathological hatred for Bush-Cheney.

I'm not worrying whether or not Kerry exploited his Silver Star (and started his nomination acceptance speech well with “Reporting for duty!”). The account of the Swift Boats is there for anyone to review (as I did in conjunction with the story of the Seawolves, whose missions were to aid those boats and boaters). The rivers were full of ambushes and snipers along the banks and the boats could be also attacked by cables (which could decapitate crew members) or stopped and trapped by dropped logs, any of this at pretty much any time, and the boaters didn't have the “luxury” of daylight missions only.

Tom Ridge has been controversial, but at least he is moving in the majority direction here, not just likely trying to profit from what else, a book deal (and an “insider” book deal), but Bush-bashing and “washing the Bush off him” to get in good graces once more inside Washington someday, I bet.

We shouldn't investigate CIA torture, but it is okay to pick apart a veterans Silver Star?

It made me sick when liberals attacked McCain's service and it make me sick when these idiots attack Kerry's. It really was sickening to read liberal and conservative attacks on Powell…depending on whatever issue was being debated.

Show some respect.

Weren't they fifty-plus SBoat commanders who actually did a full tour on the dangerous missions instead of getting three fake Purple Hearts in three months like Kerry did? And if they aren't fake, why didn't Kerry release his Navy records as he said he would?

Like Maples and Rather, who your fellow wingnuts hate, you forget to mention a Silver Star.

Eight days later, on February 28, 1969, came the events for which Kerry was awarded his Silver Star. On this occasion, Kerry was in tactical command of his Swift boat and two others in an eight boat formation. Their mission on the Duong Keo river included bringing a demolition team and dozens of South Vietnamese Marines to destroy enemy sampans, structures and bunkers as described in the story The Death Of PCF 43.[25] Running into an ambush, Kerry “directed the boats to turn to the beach and charge the Viet Cong positions” and he “expertly directed” his boat's fire and coordinated the deployment of the South Vietnamese troops, according to the original medal citation (signed by Admiral Zumwalt). Going a short distance farther, Kerry's boat was the target of an RPG round; as the boat beached at the site, a VC with a rocket launcher jumped and ran from a spider hole. While the boat's gunner opened fire, wounding the VC on the leg, and while the other boats approached and offered cover fire, Kerry jumped from the boat and chased the VC and killed him, capturing a loaded rocket launcher.

Now just three Purple Hearts without any firefights and a Silver Star is worthy of derision, like driving a hilo while serving in logistics. W didn't even finish out his Guard duty, no Silver Star or enemy fire…

Obviously the aforementioned documents were fake, as almost pre-proven, or rather -.25hrs before the broadcast was over… sure, smart eye. Go on with that.

The bottom line is that one took an aluminum boat directly into combat with a entire command under him commending and supporting him to this very day. One turned a thin-hulled vessel into enemy fire, survived, won! And got multiple citations from the Navy for doing so; the other didn't. Simple.

You may as well be spitting on General Washington and all other veterans too. Unpatriotic. Immoral. Leave the medals on his chest and get with your issues of civil thought. Torry jerks.