John Kerry at Yale
When John Kerry graduated from Yale, he was a young man determined to fight America's enemies who enthusiastically volunteered for combat in Vietnam. And only after arriving in Vietnam, and understanding the pointlessness of the war first-hand, did he turn against the war, and only then did he return to America to voice his opposition. And then, only later did the apolitical John Kerry decide to pursue a career in politics, right? At least that's what the media and Kerry's campaign want us to think.

But not so fast.

Matthew Continetti uncovered the truth, which really wasn't hard, considering it's in plain print in Kerry's authorized biography. (Exercise for the reader: Why has the media, so focused on presidential politics, forgotten to mention this?)

It turns out that Kerry was very political as far back as college, at least. In fact, he was the head of the Yale Political Union as a junior. And in that position, while still at college, Kerry spoke out against the war:

"In the future," the Yale junior intoned, "the U.S. must fix goals which are tenable." The war in Vietnam wasn't such. What's more, "these goals should recognize priorities," and those priorities should "correspond minutely with our best national interests." The Cold War's Manichaean dichotomy--"Us" (the free world) against "Them" (the Communists)--troubled him. "We should concern ourselves less with other ideologies and attempt to apply a policy which is both sensitive and compatible with the expressed desires and cultures of the people involved," Kerry said. The lesson, in other words, was that American involvement in Vietnam was a mistake. And it should not be repeated.

And later:

Wars like Vietnam were "self-defeating," Kerry said. Indeed, he continued, "it is the specter of Western Imperialism that causes more fear among Africans and Asians than communism." And self-defeating conflicts led inexorably to imperial hubris. Kerry said the United States was "grossly overextended" in "areas where we have no vital primary interest."

Does this sound like a young man who would run from graduation to the recruiting center, so he could fight the communists? I'd say it sounds more like someone who would seek a draft deferment, and if he got denied, might try to avoid dangerous duty by signing up for the Navy.

For the record, I think all of this is understandable. It's not suprising or shameful that people at that time had different views of the Vietnam War, and that some went to some lengths to avoid getting killed there.

So why is the media and Kerry's campaign lying to us? Why are they pretending that John Kerry was something that he wasn't?

Please, just tell me the truth. I can handle it.

- posted by The Dutchman @ 6:55:00 PM