Vietnam analogy comes too late for Kennedy

By Matthew Spolar, Globe correspondent

President Bush's comparison in his speech this morning between the Iraq war and Vietnam -- contending that the United States pulled out of Indochina too soon -- came three and a half years late for one listener: Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Back in April 2004 Kennedy raised eyebrows by calling the Iraq war "George Bush's Vietnam." Kennedy, who at the time was doing his best to light a fire under fellow Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign, added: "As a result, this president has now created the largest credibility gap since Richard Nixon."

In response to Kennedy's comments, Bush spokesman Terry Holt shot back, "It is obvious that Senator Kerry has appointed Senator Kennedy to be his chief political hatchetman."

Hatchetman or psychic? Three years ago, very few could have foreseen Bush invoking Vietnam to shed a positive light on Iraq.