Kerry was a Navy LT. He was a SEAL team member
John Forbes Kerry was a Lt. (junior grade) He commanded a swift boat in Viet Nam.
Bob Kerrey (former Senator from Nebraska as well as former candidate for President) is the Navy S.E.A.L. that you may be thinking of. Unlike John "the conquering hero" Kerry, Bob Kerrey was gravely wounded (lost his leg) while engaged in an operation for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
A comparison of the the two men is interesting in that it provides a way to look into the psyche of the modern Democrat party.
Kerrey: Honorable man, forthright and courageous, liberal yes, but always demanding that folks who recieve government assistance be held accountable. When asked about his military past he was always completely forthcoming, even when the Democrat party marginalized him with false accusations of war crimes.
In the end, the Democrats destroyed him politically because they had no room within their party for anyone that would insist on holding welfare recipients et al., responsible for their own actions.
Kerry : Dishonorable (call him what you like here), prevaricator, anti-American sovereignty ___hole liberal (read as, or more liberal than Ted Kennedy) who demands that we the sheeple acceed to the wishes of our betters - and of whom he considers himself to be #1. When asked about his military past and it's nefarious aftermath, he pleads both cases. He says that he is proud to have served our country in the Republic of Viet Nam, and out of the other side of his mouth he rattles off a litany of war crimes that he claims not only to have taken place daily, but that he had
personal knowledge of them! In fact, he has said in testimony to the U.S. Senate Foreign relations committee "...several months ago in Detroit, we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command...." All officers? Every level of command? Really? All of those officers derelict in their duty eh? Funny... I must have served in a different Navy.
Unlike Bob Kerrey, the Democrat party embraces John Forbes Kerry. They seem to be on the verge of anointing him and proclaiming that he represents their ideals.
Well, that may be so, but from where I sit I see an empty suit. I see a (call him what you like here) who makes believe that he has thrown his medals away in protest, while simultaneously seeing to it that they are prominently displayed on his office wall... not to mention that he brings up the fact that he was awarded them every time he speaks. I see a Senator that voted for the Iraq war resolution that then says he is against the war.
I see that and a dearth of ideals everywhere I look in the Democrat party.