Saturday, April 24, 2004
Talking the talk, and walking the walk
Kerry:
Bush:
Um. (back)
The dental records?
The codpiece?
Actually, the Republicans—they even wheeled out the really big gun, Waura—did a really good job spinning the (still incomplete) Bush military records issue.
The issue was not—as they claimed—that serving in the National Guard was somehow, in itself, unpatriotic; the issue was (1) whether Bush did, in fact, fulfill his service obligations (which we still don't know because the "complete" records don't include the DD214, reason for discharge), and (2) whether Bush can run as an uber-patriot having a service record like Bush does. I don 't think so.
To be fair, Bush's military record is stellar, compared to the chickenhawks who surround him, so maybe by Republican standards he is a hero. Nevertheless, they, and he, remind me of nothing so much as the Duke of Plaza Toro in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers. I was going to quote only a part of it, but heck, it's all relevant so here it is:
It's funny how certain types appear throughout history and literature, isn't it?
Poor Bush! While he was participating in his opera bouffe military service in TANG—not to take anything away from those who actually did serve honorably—Kerry was getting shot at. And now Bush, to win, has to smear Kerry as a traitor and a coward. A terrible dilemma for a man of conscience....
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry still carries a piece of shrapnel in his left thigh from a 1969 Vietnam War wound that led to his second Purple Heart, his doctor said on Friday.
(via Reuters)
Bush:
Um. (back)
The dental records?
The codpiece?
Actually, the Republicans—they even wheeled out the really big gun, Waura—did a really good job spinning the (still incomplete) Bush military records issue.
The issue was not—as they claimed—that serving in the National Guard was somehow, in itself, unpatriotic; the issue was (1) whether Bush did, in fact, fulfill his service obligations (which we still don't know because the "complete" records don't include the DD214, reason for discharge), and (2) whether Bush can run as an uber-patriot having a service record like Bush does. I don 't think so.
To be fair, Bush's military record is stellar, compared to the chickenhawks who surround him, so maybe by Republican standards he is a hero. Nevertheless, they, and he, remind me of nothing so much as the Duke of Plaza Toro in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers. I was going to quote only a part of it, but heck, it's all relevant so here it is:
In enterprise of martial kind,
When there was any fighting,
He led his regiment from behind
(He found it less exciting).
But when away his regiment ran,
His place was at the fore, O-
That celebrated, Cultivated, Underrated Nobleman,
The Duke of Plaza-Toro!
In the first and foremost flight, ha, ha!
You always found that knight, ha, ha!
That celebrated, Cultivated, Underrated Nobleman,
The Duke of Plaza-Toro!
When, to evade Destruction's hand,
To hide they all proceeded,
No soldier in that gallant band
Hid half as well as he did.
He lay concealed throughout the war,
And so preserved his gore, O!
That unaffected, Undetected, Well connected Warrior,
The Duke of Plaza-Toro!
In every doughty deed, ha, ha!
He always took the lead, ha, ha!
That unaffected, Undetected, Well connected Warrior,
The Duke of Plaza-Toro!
When told that they would all be shot
Unless they left the service,
That hero hesitated not,
So marvellous his nerve is.
He sent his resignation in,
The first of all his corps, O!
That very knowing, Overflowing, Easy-going Paladin,
The Duke of Plaza-Toro!
To men of grosser clay, ha, ha!
He always showed the way, ha, ha!
That very knowing, Overflowing, Easy-going Paladin,
The Duke of Plaza-Toroza-Toro
(Gilbert & Sullivan, The Gondoliers)
It's funny how certain types appear throughout history and literature, isn't it?
Poor Bush! While he was participating in his opera bouffe military service in TANG—not to take anything away from those who actually did serve honorably—Kerry was getting shot at. And now Bush, to win, has to smear Kerry as a traitor and a coward. A terrible dilemma for a man of conscience....
