Clark-Kerry: a rivalry of Army-Navy, general-lieutenant for veterans' vote

[Feanorcurufinwe]

The rivalry between Wesley Clark and John Kerry is more than two Democrats vying for the party's nomination -- it's Army versus Navy, general versus lieutenant, West Point grad versus enlisted. The two veterans are counting heavily on their old military buddies to provide crucial support Tuesday in primaries in Arizona and South Carolina, which have more than 1 million veterans between them. Recognition of the "band of brothers" is a constant at their campaign events -- and so is winning over the hearts and minds of those who wore the uniform.

<snip>

Kerry routinely asks veterans in the crowd to raise their hands, and he thanks them for their service. When an elderly man felt faint at a rally Sunday at the Fargo Air Museum in North Dakota, Kerry left the stage to lend assistance.

"He's OK," he reassured the crowd. "He's a World War II vet and his legs aren't what they used to be."

So far, in voting in at least one state, Kerry has outshone the four-star. Exit polls in New Hampshire showed that veterans preferred Kerry to Clark by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, numbers close to the overall results in which Kerry won the primary and Clark finished a distant third. Kerry's victory could tip the balance in his favor in Arizona, said Fred Solop, a political science professor at Northern Arizona University. More than 15 percent of the adult population in Arizona are military veterans.

"Momentum is on his side, and veterans are an important constituency in that regard," Solop said. "Veterans in New Hampshire weren't splitting their votes -- they were, by and large, supporting Kerry, and I think you will see the same in Arizona."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/02/02/politics1524EST0720.DTL

[goobergunch]

1. Who do consciencious objectors support?

;)

[lastknowngood]

2. The General wins the vets over all

many Vietnam vets are still pissed at anyone who went against that damn war. They can't accept that they lost that one, they to this day blame it on the people who protested. Never mind it was them who saved most of their lives and untold others who didn't' have to go.

[Johnyawl]

9. Not all of us.

You'd be amazed at how many of us veterans came home disgusted by that war. We didn't all do what Kerry did, but we've spoken out against it in our personal lives for 35 years.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

10. Vietnam vets speak out for and against Kerry's anti-war protests

Really interesting:
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/0104/forum_protest.html

[incapsulated]

3. "West Point grad versus enlisted"

This is reaching true levels of absurdity when a poor kid from Arkansas who was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to West Point and then go on to serve in Viet Nam and get a Silver Star is compared to a Patrician like Kerry, who is now an "enlisted" man.

yeah, poor enlisted grunt, just like anybody else.

Please.

[deminflorida]

4. While I respect John Kerry's service in Vietnam....

and by the way he is the "Real Deal" unlike our heroic Commander in Chief...

I am retired Navy, served during the Yugoslavia Campaign, and Bosnia...and I have to tell you....

Clark's actions there at 50 years of age and as a Three Star General are nothing less than classic John Wayne American Hero.

"At age fifty, as a 3-Star General working as J-5 for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Clark didn't hesitate to tie a rope around a tree stump and reppel several hundred meters down a mountainside under hostile fire, in the hopes of saving the lives of soldiers whose armored personnel carrier had fallen when a portion of the road gave way."

It hasn't been that long ago folks, John Kerry did what he did as a young man...Clark was 50 and this was only a few years back, not to mention Clark would have probably done more in Vietnam (if winning the Silver Star is not enough) when he served with John Kerry except he was shot four times and damn near died.

Maybe Clark should change his motto to "THE REAL DEAL STILL."

[Doctor_J]

5. Clark's numbers problems

He's splitting the military vote w/ Kerry, the Southern vote w/ Edwards. I think that's hurting his numbers overall.

[incapsulated]

7. Yep

When it was a Clark vs. Dean scenerio, everything was clearcut.

[MariaS]

6. I noticed

that Kerry started asking Vets to raise their hands at his rallies after Clark was doing it. Kerry may have been a hero in Battle but in the real world of politics he is an utter dud. Why wasn't he putting those protest skills back into action when Chimpy was hijacking our country. He rolled over and played dead for the Repuks. His type of politics as usual is exactly what I am sick of. Clark is fresh and untainted and exactly what this country needs to pull together.

[Straight Shooter]

8. Kerry will shake his medals at George and yell "Boo!"

Whereupon somehow the Rove machine will be ready and waiting.

And since the shine of being a veteran seems to be the big theme of Kerry's campaign, I'm dismayed that the real honor isn't going to Clark.

Is it true that Kerry testified before Congress and called the soldiers still in Vietnam "genocidal murderers"? Excuse me for being offended if that's true, but if so, it means he called my father and my brother a genocidal murderer.

And, incidentally, my father (an Army lifer) went to Vietnam even though he could have stayed in America because he said it would be one less kid having to go over there. Not all heroics were as dramatic as Kerry's. And Kerry's heroics were nowhere near as dramatic as those of Clark's.

BTW, nobody old enough to fight in WWII has legs that are what they used to be. What a self-serving remark from Kerry.