Captain Ed has a great write up on this latest twist, with a link to the interview where a Kerry spokesman backs off of his claims on his first Purple Heart.

First the Kerry camp had to admit to lying about Cambodia, after it was proven that what he said could not possibly be true. Now, they are acknowleging one of the Swiftboat Vets "smears" - that his first purple heart was awarded based on a self-inflicted injury, after it has been discovered that Kerry's own journal contradicts his citation for the medal.

If Kerry lied about Cambodia, and he lied about this medal, and he lied about atrocities, what is it that he is telling the truth about? If yet another of the Swiftboat Vets claims has been found to be valid, what does that mean?

One of their central claims was that he was trying to get 3 Purple Hearts as quickly as possible so he could get sent home - I have always said that there is no way of knowing if that is true or not, so it isn't worth discussing. This revelation, however, puts it into play because one of the rules regarding the awarding of a Purple Heart specifically exempts self inflicted injuries, except in the heat of battle and only if not a result of gross negligence. So why did Kerry put in for this award? And why after being denied, did he resubmit the citation after a change in his chain of command?

While none of this Vietnam talk amounts to much as it relates to the challenges our country faces and who has the best plan to lead it, and it is distasteful to have to even have to discuss it, it does reveal something about Kerry. It reveals that he is a political opportunist and it reveals that he isn't very smart when it comes to running a campaign. In his latest gesture of cynicism, he appears now to be trying to make nice with the ear servering genocidal butchers!

However unseemly all this is, it should be noted that Kerry personally joined in the call for Bush to prove he wasn't AWOL and has also declined to join Bush in denouncing 527 advertising. What Kerry is now facing is no more (and probably less) disgusting than the kind of vitriolic tripe directed at Bush by Michael Moore, MoveOn, Americans Coming Together, and their ilk who accuse him of such things as being worse than Hitler and having known about 9/11 before hand but having done nothing to prevent it.

Funny how once the other team figured out the rules and joined in playing hardball, those who have exploited the system for years now want to start crying about it. Also funny how they want to get the other teams silenced while they have been whining about being censored all this time. Actually, it isn't that funny.

update: VodkaPundit points out this brilliant summation of the situation, by Robert Bidinotto.