NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- John Kerry was politely received by the American Legion yesterday, delivering a speech focused on veteran pocketbook issues and President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq without addressing the attacks leveled against him last month by fellow veterans.
"I'm proud to be here, and I'm proud to be a Legionnaire," he said after saluting the several thousand veterans seated in the giant hall.
"When I am president, you will have a fellow veteran in the White House who understands that those who fought for our country abroad should never have to fight for what they were promised back here at home," Mr. Kerry said.
The audience politely responded to most of Mr. Kerry's pauses for his applause lines and gave him a standing ovation.
Something tells me that Kerry's reception was somewhat less than warm given the fact that the reporter writing this story couldn't find a better word than "polite" to describe the crowd's reaction to him.
After reading the whole article I couldn't find a single favorable quote from a veteran in attendance. I did, however, find this little bit of wackiness from Max Cleland.
Former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, who joined Mr. Kerrey in demanding Mr. Rove's resignation on behalf of the campaign, said the veterans attacking Mr. Kerry's war record have contributed to a spike in suicides, which, he says, has occurred among veterans.
There's been a spike in veteran suicides? I can't speak to that as I haven't seen any sort of statistics on it, but I have serious doubts. How many veterans do you know that would end their lives because Kerry was accused of lying about his military service? I mean, just think about what Cleland is saying for a moment. Can you imagine veterans seeing one of the Swiftboat ads about John Kerry and deciding to end it all?
Neither can I.