Thanks for doing the digging on the "useful idiots" quote.

As for John Kerry - will he come forward and say: Yes, I said that, and I was wrong? If not, he has no place even as a candidate for the President of the U.S.

That's very interesting about the quote. Kerry is like most politicians, he'll say whatever will make the most memorable sound bite. It's fun when it comes around to bite them in the butt later.

Your characterization of the new JFK is quite accurate.

I returned from Vietnam in 1970. I, too, was angry about the whole thing. But I couldn't bring myself to get involved in any antiwar activities because, as far as I was concerned, the organizations running the antiwar show were, at a minimum, Marxist and dedicated to our defeat. To be in a demonstration where people carried VC flags and denounced the US would have been a betrayal of the guys I left behind, and played right into the hands of those whose objective it was to kill them.

And I could not identify with those "veterans" who made a big show of their veteran status as anti-war types. One of the most prominent was John Kerry. I remember his performance before the Congressional committee in 1971 and was singularly nauseated, because it was obvious to me that this guy was running for something. He was enhancing his resume for future political campaigns. Sure enough, before long he was running for office in Massachusetts. I knew it was only a matter of time until he became a presidential candidate. He has been positioning himself for this since he was a kid.

But, back to his committee appearance. There he was, wearing an OD fatigue shirt with ribbons on it. Now, that may have looked impressive to average civilian slob, but to me it was an indication of his contempt for the military in which he was supposedly so heroic. The fatigue shirt is a work uniform and is not suitable for the wearing of decorations. Why would an ex-officer, someone whom you would expect to know about such matters, appear before a Congressional committee, or anywhere else, dressed like that? His performance was in keeping with his appearance: disgusting. Yet he was portrayed as a spokesman for those of us who served in Vietnam. Ever since, I have had a hard-on for this opportunistic scumbag. He was not representative of me or any of the other people I knew. And yes, he is unfit to even be a candidate for President. Assuming he is able to realize his life-long goal and get elected, it will be as difficult to stomach as 8 years of William the Impeached.

Hey Loren,

Ditto!!! Especially on opposing "sending good men into the Southeast-Asia meat grinder on what amounted to suicide missions..."

Also, I think we feel that our service was not appreciated even though we worked as hard as any other American soldiers in any other war. If you hold your head high, as most of us have done, you realize that you are walking in the midst of small people. We did good, and we should be proud of our achievements.

A great big thumbs up to ya.

Guy L. Evans
Aurora, Colorado
Pukin' Buzzards say, "Phu Bai is all right."

P.S. Ditto to Steve C, too!!!

Is John Kerry a disgrace to the women and men wearing uniforms of the U.S. military? Is he REALLY the best Democrats could muster? In my opinion, they could have done much better and would do well to consider pandering less those on the far left of the party.

More than anything else, my attention was captivated by the WSJ article in which men who served with Mr. Kerry in Vietnam declared that he is unfit to lead. Seldom do soldiers make such declarations regarding their own. We'd all do well to consider the opinion of those who served in time of crisis with the presidential candidate.

Just because Lenin never wrote down the phrase "useful idiots" doesn't mean he didn't utter the phrase.