Why there hasn’t been this much of a mealy-mouthed hasty retreat since Sen. Joe McCarthy failed to come up with the name of so much as a single commie lurking in the weeds of the State Department.
There was bloviating Texas gasbag, T. Boone Pickens the other day speaking before some fellow right-wing traveler’s from the Planet Zircon 9 when he made the offer to pay $1 million to anyone who could disprove a single allegation made by the Swift Boatt Veterans for Demagoguery against the Vietnam War records of the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry.
It was Pickens, who helped bankroll the 2004 smear campaign against Kerry, providing as much as $3 million to the Not-Too-Swift Boat Veterans attacks on the candidate, who was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts during his Vietnam service.
Indeed, despite the efforts of the Swift Boat lap dogs for T-Boone Pickens to undermine Kerry’s war record, with a single exception, members of the senator’s crews all regarded their commander as a hero.
And indeed, Kerry has allowed journalists full access to his Navy personnel and medical records and nothing has been uncovered to contradict the senator’s accounts of his service or the wounds he received.
Back in 2004, Kerry acknowledged his failure to confront the allegations made against him in a more timely, aggressive manner contributed to his election defeat.
But better late than never, so when Pickens made his $1 million offer, Kerry was quick to take up the oil barron’s challenge.
In a letter to Pickens, Kerry offered to meet in a public forum to discuss the allegations against him and his defense that they are wrong.
Kerry also requested that Pickens make his $1 million check out to the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
“I trust that you are a man of your word, having made a public challenge at a major Washington dinner and I look forward to taking you up on this challenge,” Kerry concluded in his letter to Pickens.
Man of his word? Hahahahahahaha!!!!
No sooner had Kerry responded, did Pickens start to go into full “Hummana-hummana-hummana!” mode as he attempted to change the ground rules of his initial posturing.
Responding to Kerry, Pickens said he was “intrigued by your letter,” which is vague way of saying, “I’ll share a public dais with you about the same time Pervez Musharraff and Benazir Bhutto elope.
Pickens said he was concerned about Kerry’s comtinued “malinging” of the Swift Boat Veterans. Oh really? Just how would Pickens expect Kerry to regard a group of political thugs who lied about him and possibly cost the senator the presidency? Yes, let’s have a “Duh!” here.
Pickens further welshed on his offer by changing his own ground rules for the $1 million pay-out and even refused to make the pay-off to Kerry to his choice of the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
As classy guys go, this puts T. Boone Pickens righ tup there with silly people like Tailgunner Joe and Lyndon LaRouche.
Little surprise Pickens would cut and run from his kerfuffle with Kerry.
What else would you expect from a Long Star windbag, who when it comes to honor is all hat and no cattle?