THE INSIDE SCOOP on John Kerry's Past
(archived broadcast 
)
A special 90-minute broadcast will play the full June 30, 1971 Vietnam War debate on the Dick Cavett Show between 27-year-old John Kerry and his nemesis, 25-year-old John O’Neill.
John O’Neill, the author of Unfit for Command and founder of “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” has been dogging John Kerry ever since O’Neill was asked to do so by President Richard Nixon 23 years ago. O’Neill’s vicious personal attacks and John Kerry’s measured statesmanlike responses, and their respective comments on the war are surprisingly illustrative of the same situation we face today. An articulate Kerry explains his view on “war crimes” committed by U.S. troops, an articulate O’Neill, beneath a polite veneer, can barely mask his contempt for anyone who opposes the Vietnam War. And there is no mention of any of the charges that Kerry did not earn his medals (the charges O’Neill would make 23 years later).
You won’t want to miss the debate or Mark Levine’s commentary on it for an incisive understanding of what drives the man who will likely be the next President of the United States — John Kerry — and the forces that drive his enemies.
Far more than soundbites and superficial discussion, it’s THE INSIDE SCOOP.
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Mark Levine September 17, 2004 1:57 pm
It is a typical of a Republican flame-thrower to combine ad hominem attacks against me and John Kerry with a complete absence of any facts supporting his claims.
I could fight back in the same vein: Tom, you’re pathetic, and ignorant. What is George Bush’s platform other than, “I’ll do whatever Cheney, Rove, and Halliburton tell me to do”? If you could answer that one, you’d be the first, because Dubya doesn’t know himself.
But that would be childish and juvenile. If Tom really could stand behind his beliefs, he would call into my show and argue with me mano a mano. Let’s see if he does.
Tom September 17, 2004 12:42 pm
Mark,
Your commentary attempting to explain John Kerry’s meaning on the Dick Cavett show is not only grossly innacurate, but shows a gross lack of knowledge of the substance in general. In particular, your explaination of what a ‘free fire zone’, which is NOT that you fire at everything that moves (had you read ‘Unfit for Command’ this would be clear to you).
In your trying to make parallels between this interview and the Iraq war is a pathetic attempt at linking two completely different wars, fought in different eras, for different reasons. The reason your candidate is losing ground fast is precisely the result of his thirty five years of lies catching up with him. If you really want to see the real John Kerry, why don’t you go to the rnc.org web site and check out the Kerry Iraq Documentary. Even the most liberal minded person should come away disgusted after watching the flip flopping on Iraq that began YEARS before President Bush took office. The truth is inescapable, and now is staring Sen. Kerry in the face. When you run for office on a national level, twenty years of taking the most popular position of the moment catches up with you.
I will leave you with this last question; What is Sen. Kerry’s platform other than ‘Im not George Bush? If you could answer that one, you’d be the first, because Sen. Kerry doesn’t know himself.