Americans seemed perfectly fine with the lies told about John Kerry's war record. Why should they care more about McCain's record? Moreover, these assertions that being a POW does not automatically make one presidential material have the serious advantage of being true while the swiftboat allegatiosn were out and out lies.

I find it odd that someone credentialed to write on politics for Slate could write a story about attacks on military records and ignore the Kerry <> Swiftboat story. Doesn't the reporter want to remind us that Republicans have no standing to defend anyone's military service after their shameful behavior in 2004. Anyone who wore a purple bandage should just shut up now.

Any reporter or pundit opining about Wes Clark now should not be shown without some of their 2004 blather. What you would then see is a story of hypocrisy deep enough to drown the entire GOP.

Except of course, hypocrisy is their natural element - their oxygen. It feeds them.

I agree with you. The republicans lost the right to claim to have been wronged by anyone's negative comment about anyone's military service because of their own slander.

Since so many of the neo-klan seem to have an aversion to military service, it would seem they had to search far and wide to find someone who did'nt go AWOL on them. And who's the best they could dig up? A hostage.

This would be an excellent time for you to tell the group about your own combat experience.

I was in the National Guard, before I went blind...

and yours?

I'm not the one whimpering about somebody else's service-- that would be you, ignorant partisan tool.

Oh... I see... you must have been in the lip service.

You must be the hit of the schoolbus stop with wit like that.

See if you can get one of the older kids to read this aloud and explain it to you: I am not the one making an issue of someone else's service record.

You're an ass. You're no help to the RepubliKLAN...You're no help to anyone. You're a damn soreheaded loser. You and your racist followes can cry in November.

Kija:

Americans seemed perfectly fine with the lies told about John Kerry's war record. Why should they care more about McCain's record?

There were different accounts of the Kerry war record. I don't think that makes Americans "perfectly fine with the lies". Of course the 'fair' truth is going to be somewhere between what pundits have allegedly said. I think McCain has communicate that.