About That Shrapnel . . . and Meet The Press

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About That Shrapnel

Well, I spent 20 minutes drafting a post for today and then it disappeared. Argghh!
Here's a shorter version.

There's a great deal flying around the internet on Kerry and Vietnam, so I will not try to add much. I did notice this morning's Washington Post story on the Swift Vets controversy, however.

Kerry, in his inimitable way of attempting soaring rhetoric, has often noted that he still carries metal in his body from Vietnam. Now, as someone who was of age in the Vietnam era, I honor the service of anyone who chose to place himself in harm's way by enlisting. Kerry did that, and the nation should be grateful to him as to everyone else who did.

Having said that, I think perspective is important. Here's how the Post reports the incident that led to Kerry carrying metal in his posterior after all these years:

As they were heading back to the boat, Kerry and Rassmann decided to blow
up a five-ton rice bin to deny food to the Vietcong. In an interview last week,
Rassmann recalled that they climbed on top of the huge pile and dug a hole in
the rice. On the count of three, they tossed their grenades into the hole and
ran.

Evidently, Kerry did not run fast enough. "He got some frags and pieces
of rice in his rear end," Rassmann said with a laugh. "It was more embarrassing
than painful." At the time, the incident did not seem significant, and Kerry did
not mention it to anyone when he got back on the boat. An unsigned "personnel
casualty report," however, erroneously implies that Kerry suffered "shrapnel
wounds in his left buttocks" later in the day, following the mine explosion
incident, when he also received "contusions to his right forearm."

Kind of puts that incident in perspective, doesn't it? Remember that the next time you hear Kerry pontificate about the metal in his body.

Meet The Press on The Swift Vets

As I was typing this post, "Meet The Press" came on. The first story was about the Kerry-Vietnam issue. All in all, I think Tim Russert was fair, although the first topic he covered was whether there is a connection between the Swift Vet ads and the Bush campaign. (Did I call that one or not, folks?)