On to Something
Jeff Jarvis has a different take than Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, on the Kerry Swiftboat debate. He quotes a Matt Welch comment critical of Reynolds, who responds to that here.
Me? I'm with Jarvis that we'd be better off paying more attention to the forest than the trees. Both forests have some pretty ugly trees in them afterall, and who knows, maybe this particular tree in the Kerry forest will become significant. It certainly looks diseased from several angles. But the whole forest itself is rather sparse too, and even if this tree turns out to be ok it isn't going to change my mind about what I think of the forest.
I really think we need to get over this whole military experience thing though. It's useful information, yes, but it isn't determinative -- if it were, we'd be finishing up the second Dole term right now, which would have followed a second Bush 41 term. And it isn't as if we don't have a Kerry record dating back 20 plus years that helps us understand where he's coming from on military and foreign affairs. Nor is there a shortage of things we can look at in the last 3.5 years to assess Bush. Even if you think Bush earned an honorable discharge, if you don't like his handling of the War, taxes, the economy, stem cells, abortion, etc., are you still supposed to vote for him? And if you think Bush is a liar about all of the above, are you going to vote for Nader if it turns John Kerry was never in Cambodia?
Hold it -- maybe I'm on to something here.