Politics aside, I never really thought much of John Kerry as a candidate. He's lurch-like, stiff, has an air of haughtiness and superiority to him, and frankly, he seems like a dick. Conversely, whatever one may think of Bill Clinton politically, he has become the standard by which all presidential contenders are measured by. He's intelligent, photogenic, glib, and personable. GW Bush has a kind of halting, goofy charm about him that appeals to some people. (Not me, mind. I voted for him because I'm a Republican, not because of his personality.) But Kerry came off terribly. That said, much has been made about the release of Kerry's naval records, particularly in regards to his grades at Yale, which were slightly worse than Bush's (if you can believe it). There is some tasty irony in the whole affair, particularly since Kerry used his superior intellect as a selling point. The problem with that selling point is that it was bogus. The Northeastern intellectual turned out to be no more intellectual than the frat-boy C-student we currently have in the White House. Boo hoo.
More than that, it is looking like the much talked about records that Kerry finally requested the Navy release are really just copies of what was already out there. It is looking like Kerry pulled a fast one on the press and made it look like he released his full naval records, when in fact he still has yet to. For one, the full military records are not held by the Navy, but rather by National Personnel Record Center.
Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs has already found a discrepancy confirmed by the Department of the Navy of "at least a hundred pages" missing from those already disclosed by Kerry.
Far from exonerating Kerry from some of the charges made by the SWIFTees, the release of these documents (to the Boston Globe, but not to the general press) has only further ramped up the contentions made by the SWIFTees that Kerry was not what he said he was in Vietnam: a war hero. He might well be, but Kerry's ongoing refusal to release ALL of his military records to the general press still does not give the answers to the questions that many have asked regarding his time in Vietnam (or Cambodia, as Kerry has claimed), much less whether he was honorably or dishonorably discharged.
More than anything, it seems as though Kerry attempted to hoodwink the press by sending his SF-80 to the Navy instead of NPRC. It is the equivalent of calling someone at home when you know they're at work, or vice-versa, so that you can say that you called, even though you had no interest in talking. Also, this quote is telling:
"There is nothing magic about signing a SF 180," said former Naval Judge Advocate General Mark Sullivan. "It is sort of like your checkbook. You can fill out a check for one dollar or a million. It is the same check form."
Why is Kerry persisting in stonewalling? Enquiring minds want to know.
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