Instapundit links to a transcript of a John Kerry Interview on Good Morning America (the transcript is on Drudge). I think a lot of the talk about Senator Kerry's medals is silly, but his reaction and his response are more interesting:
KERRY: [...] this is a controversy that the republicans are pushing , the republicans have spent $60 million in the last few weeks trying to attack me. and this comes from a president and a republican party that can't even answer whether or not he showed up for duty in the national guard. i'm not going to stand for it.GIBSON: senator, i was there 33 years ago and i saw you throw medals over the fence and we didn't find out until later -
KERRY: no, you didn't see me throw th. charlie, charlie, you are wrong. that's not what happened. i threw my ribbons across. all you have to do -
GIBSON: someone else's medals, correct in?
KERRY: after -- excuse me. excuse me, charlie. after the ceremony was over, i had a bronze star and a purple heart given to me, one purple heart by a veteran in the v.a. in new york and the bronze star by an older veteran of world war ii in massachusetts. i threw them over because they asked me to. i never --
GIBSON: let me come back to the thing just said which is the military --
KERRY: this is a phony -- charlie, this is a phony controversy.
GIBSON: the military makes no distinction between ribbons and medals but you are the one who made the distinction. in 1984 --
KERRY: no . we made no distinction back then, charlie. we made no distinction.
GIBSON: senator, i don't want -- i just want to ask the question. in 1984 when you were running for the senate, that was the first time that you called someone in from labor because they were upset that you had thrown ribbons away.
KERRY: no.
GIBSON: you called them and you made the distinction and said i didn't throw my medals away. i just threw the ribbons away. you made the distinction.
KERRY: i was asked specifically in greater detail about what took place. i answered the question truthfully. which is consistent with what happened in 1971. i mean, charlie, go back and get the file footage. there are were millions of people watching. i took my ribbons off my chest just as other veterans did. this is a phony controversy. this is being pushed yesterday by karen hughes of the white house on fox.
UPDATE II: I am always tough on ABC and "Good Morning America." I must admit that they have been tough on a Democrat. Check out abcnews.com.
Posted by jk at April 26, 2004 10:26 AM"i was asked specifically in greater detail about what took place. i answered the question truthfully. which is consistent with what happened in 1971." Is this in counterposition to the truth that is IN-consistent with what happened?"
I disagree that the talk about his medals is silly. Mister Kerry clearly intended to imply that what he threw over the White House fence were the commendations that he, himself, had received from the Navy. Now (and in 1984) that his "youthful indescretions" have the potential of harming his candidacy he is splitting hairs and denying the ribbons/medals/pins were actually his. This is called "eating one's cake and having it too," and has clearly become Kerry's trademark.
Posted by: johngalt at April 26, 2004 09:45 PMI don't disagree. I am just saying that it is his failure to clearly explain what happened that is damaging him more than the original offense.
Posted by: jk at April 27, 2004 09:09 AM