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MESSAGE BOARD War stories
In “War stories,” Evan
Cornog discusses the
importance of personal
narratives in this year’s
presidential election. Will
Kerry's war hero story
and John Edward's selfmade
man tale connect
with voters? Or do the
Democrats need to find a
new storyline?
Page 1 While I commend John Kerry for his service to our country I find it odd that in his short time in Vietnam that he has managed to accumulate more medals and ribbons than most vertrans who defended their country in the D-Day invasion. It does seem a bit of overkill to focus on his military record as a basis for his presidential bid but when his record as a senator and Lt gov is so ineffectual I guess you have to focus on something. Will the Kerry/Edwards stories connect with voters...I guess if you admire lawyers and politicians it will !! Fred, Stoneham The Democrats need to find a new storyline. They should say that the national debt just reached $7.3 trillion and the debt ceiling is $7.4 trillion. They should say what they will do about it (and it shouldn't be "we're going to cut the deficit in half in 5 years"). Whichever party grabs onto the national debt issue will gain traction with the voters because it will show that they care about the future of the country. Peter, Cambridge I was very inspired by the DNC. I thought that itwas great. Kerry and Edwards are a winning ticket . Their wives and children are assets/ I only wish that the media overall were have as inspirational as Kerry and Edwards. Angelica , cambridge ,ma This should be the new story: Energy dependence is causing us put our way of life at risk because we supposedly can't change. The wheels of our economy can't turn without oil, so we will continue to kill and die in it's service. Not to mention it's an environmental disater. In the 70's If we had kept diversifying our enegy options we might have largely avoided this sorry chapter. Now we should embark on a new national crusade to stop using oil within 10 years. It's like Kennedys moon mission ecxept far more important. Nothing is more important. How did the Woodstock generation become the SUV generation? Doug, Duxbury The article on John Kerry's War Record fails to mention that much about his record is quite suspicious. Acording to Swiftboatvets.com, commanders who served with him and were eye witnesses to his actions say that two of his purple hearts were fradulent. On one day when he claimed to be wouned his commanding officer claimed that his boat was not even near any combat action. His Silver Star citation, again questionable, was re-wriiten three times with the latest one signed by Secratary of The Navy , John Lehman in 1988. Only 2 of the 23 officerers who served with Kerry support him as president. hy was this missing from the piece. The new book, Unfit for Service ( #2 on Amazon.com will be a blockbuster as it tells the truth from first hand eye witnesses who served with Kerry. The man is a fraud and should be exposed as such. I am a combat veteran of Vietnam as a Marine, twice wounded and three times decorated for heroism. William, Hull, MA John Kerry talks of his service and we honor all those who served honorably. He speaks often of his 3 purple hearts. It seems unusual that in just four months in Vietnam, any person could have received three serious wounds. I should think any serious wound would put a person out of action for at a minimum a few weeks. One doctor was quoted as having remembered him, He remembered him because he had said he would be the next JFK. However, the doctor was quoted as saying he could not remember the treatment and believed it was for something superficial. Another person was quoted as saying one of the wounds was treated with a bandaid. Apparently, John Kerry has not seen fit to enlighten further than "three purple hearts". Is he guilding the lily? If he already saw himself as another JFK, is it possible he was working to secure evidence of heroism? shirlee, tallahassee I believe that Kerry spent about 4 months in Vietnam. He received 3 minor injuries and then came back to the states and protested the war . Causing more death of the American Military. I spent 12 months in Vietnam. Then Kerry has spent almost 20 years in the Senate doing nothing. Edwards is nothing but an ambulance chasing laywer. Gary, South Vienna, Ohio The election should not be about story lines or fairy tales of Camelot, or emotional string tugging. It should be about defining a post cold war world, where the global ecoomy means global competition for job opportunities, where third world policy is as important as the war of terror. It should be about defining an America for the 21st century,. America is at a crucial a moment. The gleam of a sales pitch will tarnish quick under harsh realties. The flip side of the Kerry narrative is as an opportunist who was wiley enough to know the combat experience would help him politically in the future. A Kerry wiley enough to marry up twice. JIM, BROCKTON This is sort of stupid question - the stories of the two men have already connected quite hugely with voters - in a Newsweek poll taken the day after the convention, Kerry and Edwards were ahead of Bush and Cheney by eight points - a near impossible feat in today's landscape. Also, Kerry's story is bigger than the war hero and he's served our country well and competently in a number of regards. He's a good man and his competence and intelligence are needed at this time. It would be good to see the Globe get more intelligent about these things. howard, Watertown More on Bush's misleading Congress into war, resulting in affirmative votes which might have been different if truth were known. What about mentioning advisors - Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, and their roles ? What about their war records? What about Cheney's 5 deferments? What about far right's accusations of Democrats being the "party of immorality" Helen, Cherry Hill NJ
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