A Defense Of John Kerry

By now it should be pretty clear to most readers that I am not a fan of the Kerry Crusade. I think that he is just about the worst possible choice for President, possibly with Kucinich excepted.

However, I recently read this article "What You Don't Know About John Kerry" over at NewsMax.com and I found one particular point that I feel is simply wrong.

In his testimony, Kerry claimed there was no communist threat and said: "In 1970 at West Point Vice President Agnew said 'some glamorize the criminal misfits of society while our best men die in Asian rice paddies to preserve the freedom which most of those misfits abuse,' and this was used as a rallying point for our effort in Vietnam. But for us, as boys in Asia whom the country was supposed to support, his statement is a terrible distortion from which we can only draw a very deep sense of revulsion, and hence the anger of some of the men who are here in Washington today. It is a distortion because we in no way consider ourselves the best men of this country...."

OK, here I go: a defense of Kerry's statement.

When I read that statement, I see not a slam at the men in Vietnam, but rather the exhibition of a trait which I think is severly lacking in John Kerry: humility. It was probably the last time in his life that Senator Kerry thought that he might not be the end-all of end-all men. It was probably the last time in his life that he was possessed by a smug, arrogant, all-knowing attitude. I, quite frankly, am surprised to discover that the Senator has ever felt a sense of humility.

I'm not trying to take away from the efforts that our men in Vietnam put forth. Under the political restrictions and contraints, it was amazing that we were able to do as much as we did. If Johnson and Nixon had let the troops loose to prosecute the war properly, things would have ended up much differently. Did some bad things happen in Vietnam? Sure did. Vietnam was a war. And war is hell.

Walk up to any veteran and ask him if he thinks he's one of the best men in the country. Chances are he's going to say "no." Why? Because he has humility. He has lost a lot of the hubris and bravado that comes with youth, and has gained the wisdom and humility of experience and age.

The rest of the article is pretty accurate and informative. Kerry is not the same man that he is trying to portray himself as out on the stump. But in this one case, I think that he is unfairly being criticized for humility.