Kerry the Veteran Opportunist
John Kerry spent whatever capital was associated with his status as a veteran early on in this presidential election campaign. At this point, each time he waves his veteran flag he's adding to an already grossly bloated sincerity deficit that is driving me with increasing conviction into the arms of George W. Bush. If there's anything worse than a crass opportunist, it's a piously self-righteous one. Bush's defining weakness seems to be an almost religious belief that his policies are right, not because he believes he's particularly virtuous, but because he believes in the virtue of his goals. Kerry, on the other hand, is projecting the notion that we should bend the knee to whatever position he takes at the moment on foreign affairs which involve the application of American military force, because of who he is as a decorated veteran Navy Seal. I'll take my chances with the man whose faith in his beliefs is too strong, over the man whose faith in his virtue is too strong.