The swiftboat vets for truth ads controversy is a mere distraction from what should be the focus of this election. It is long past time for us to stop fighting the Vietnam war. While I blame Kerry for bringing it to the forefront again, he has only himself to blame for the visceral attacks he now faces. It was cynical and opportunistic to attempt to deflect attention from the fact that he has voted against every weapons program and voted to cut intelligence funding by billions of dollars by portraying himself as a hardened combat tested war hero. He should not be surprised that some of those hurt by his anti-war activities back then felt compelled to come forward now to hurt him. They have done that, giving us reasons to vote AGAINST Kerry, in much the same way that the 527s like MoveOn and ACT have given us reasons to vote against Bush. I have yet to hear a compelling argument for voting for Kerry, but Charles Krauthammer makes a very good argument for voting for Bush in an article in Time Magazine. Excerpt:

The war broke out on 9/11 and George W. Bush understood its meaning immediately. He understood that the old cops-and-robbers approach-bringing perpetrators "to justice"-was not only wrong but also dangerous. Up till then, it had lulled us into believing we were doing something about terrorism.

Bush acted. He declared war. Not just on terrorists-the old way-but on states as well. States that harbor terrorists, states that aid and abet terrorism, states that hunger for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). It all looks obvious now. It was not then. It was new: radical, dangerous and absolutely necessary.

The Michael Moore Democrats are having a jolly time with the President's reaction during those first seven minutes on 9/11. What counts is the first 100 days. The first 100 days witnessed the single most important victory ever in the war on terrorism: the conquest of Afghanistan, the installation of a pro-American government and the decimation and scattering of al-Qaeda. It seems easy now. It was not.

Update: A little Q&A with Ed Koch and Captain Ed continues the meme. Ed Koch may be one of the last of what Jon Lauck at Daschle v. Thune discusses - an honest liberal.