Kerry Releases Records
Some on the left are pointing to this story as proof that Kerry has finally released all of his military records, as promised during his campaign, and that the issues surrounding them should now be over. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly sure that this is true.
The question remains: Why did Kerry only release his records to his friendly, hometown newspaper? Obviously he doesn't want some of his personal information floating around in the general public, but he could have released them to several news agencies in addition to the Globe. Like Fox News maybe? Or CNN? MSNBC?
No, I think this release to the Globe is pretty clearly Kerry's way of trying to make the issue go away. When it crops up in the future he can point to this and say that he has released all of his records. And he has, its just that this "release" of records is about as convincing as having his mother vouch for the contents of his military records.
If Kerry wants his critics to be convinced he'll release his records a bit more widely. Not that, at this point, I care much what Kerry does with this records. At this point he's delayed the release of them for so long, and in the process done untold amounts of damage to his own political career, that's its obvious to anyone with a modicum of common sense that he's hiding something which we'll probably never learn about.
WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry, ending at least two years of refusal, has waived privacy restrictions and authorized the release of his full military and medical records.
The records, which the Navy Personnel Command provided to the Globe, are mostly a duplication of what Kerry released during his 2004 campaign for president, including numerous commendations from commanding officers who later criticized Kerry's Vietnam service.
The lack of any substantive new material about Kerry's military career in the documents raises the question of why Kerry refused for so long to waive privacy restrictions. An earlier release of the full record might have helped his campaign because it contains a number of reports lauding his service. Indeed, one of the first actions of the group that came to be known as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was to call on Kerry to sign a privacy waiver and release all of his military and medical records.
The question remains: Why did Kerry only release his records to his friendly, hometown newspaper? Obviously he doesn't want some of his personal information floating around in the general public, but he could have released them to several news agencies in addition to the Globe. Like Fox News maybe? Or CNN? MSNBC?
No, I think this release to the Globe is pretty clearly Kerry's way of trying to make the issue go away. When it crops up in the future he can point to this and say that he has released all of his records. And he has, its just that this "release" of records is about as convincing as having his mother vouch for the contents of his military records.
If Kerry wants his critics to be convinced he'll release his records a bit more widely. Not that, at this point, I care much what Kerry does with this records. At this point he's delayed the release of them for so long, and in the process done untold amounts of damage to his own political career, that's its obvious to anyone with a modicum of common sense that he's hiding something which we'll probably never learn about.
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