Text 295, 67 rader
Skriven 2004-08-01 04:45:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Kerry and the Marines
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http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/25935.htm


DEM'S MARINE MISFIRE 

By STEFAN C. FRIEDMAN 
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July 31, 2004 -- SCRANTON, Pa. — John Kerry's heavily hyped cross-
country bus tour stumbled out of the blocks yesterday, as a group of 
Marines publicly dissed the Vietnam War hero in the middle of a crowded 
restaurant. 
Kerry was treating running mate Sen. John Edwards and his wife, 
Elizabeth, to a Wendy's lunch in Newburgh, N.Y., for their 27th wedding 
anniversary — an Edwards family tradition — when the candidate 
approached four Marines and asked them questions. 

The Marines — two in uniform and two off-duty — were polite but curt 
while chatting with Kerry, answering most of his questions with a "yes, 
sir" or "no, sir." 

But they turned downright nasty after the Massachusetts senator thanked 
them "for their service" and left. 

"He imposed on us and I disagree with him coming over here shaking our 
hands," one Marine said, adding, "I'm 100 percent against [him]." 

A sergeant with 10 years of service under his belt said, "I speak for 
all of us. We think that we are doing the right thing in Iraq," before 
saying he is to be deployed there in a few weeks and is "eager" to go 
and serve. 

The Marines — all of whom serve at nearby Stewart Air Force Base — 
wouldn't give their names. 

  

It wasn't an auspicious start to the senators' "Believe in America" bus 
tour — a 22-state, 43-city tour that will cover roughly 3,500 miles over 
15 days in an effort to carry some of their momentum out of the 
Democratic convention. 

But the rest of Day One went smoothly, as massive crowds — including 
what Kerry said were up to 20,000 in Harrisburg, Pa., — greeted him, 
Edwards, their families and Ben Affleck at the tour-kickoff event in 
Boston and at two stops in the Keystone state. 

"Ninety-seven days [left in the campaign]; let's make it happen," Kerry 
told hundreds of bleary-eyed but upbeat supporters who showed up at a 
7:30 a.m. rally on the shores of Boston Harbor — less than nine hours 
after Kerry finished his acceptance speech. 

Kerry also employed Paul Revere's famed midnight run and imagery of 
Bunker Hill to bash President Bush over U.S. intelligence failures. 

"These are the places where people dared to stand up and put their lives 
on the line — to take a risk — for something they believed in very 
deeply," Kerry said of the Boston neighborhood where he was speaking. 

"One if by land, two if by sea, and the message was right. Come to think 
of it, they had better intelligence than we do today about what's going 
on," Kerry continued, drawing the loudest applause of the event. 

In Harrisburg, Kerry noted that there was more bad news coming out of 
the financial markets yesterday, with oil prices reaching new highs and 
economic growth limping along at three percent.
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