Let it all in
Tony Blankley argues that "all details matter when it comes to the presidency." Thus, he believes that "voters should know about drunk-driving records, marital relations, college cheating, war records, old resume enhancements and all the other bric-a-brac of a life about two-thirds lived — if the man is running for president of the United States." Naturally, this means that both President Bush's national guard service and John Kerry's anti-war activitiies are relevant. But Blankley notes that the story of Bush's relatively undistinguished early years is well known, while Kerry's story has not yet come into public focus.
Blankley goes on to speculate that "we will not truly know [Kerry] until we understand what happened to him in the jungles of the Mekong Delta. Did the jungle, and what happened there, creep permanently into his psyche? Did his experience with the horrors of war breed in him not a healthy caution before turning to military force, but an irrational obsession to never use force — even when it is necessary for our national security?" In light of these questions, Blankley concludes that "Mr. Kerry should help us better understand his true nature by permitting the government to release his full military files. We can't afford to elect a pacifist president in a time of war."
I can't disagree with Blankley's call for full disclosure; nor is his speculation about Kerry completely idle. At the same time, we can better determine whether Kerry would be "pacifist president" by examining his public statements on matters of war and peace over the years than by trying to figure what happened to his psyche while he was in the jungle. While the information that would permit one to indulge in such speculation should not be withheld, I trust that the campaign will turn on Kerry's verifiable public record, not on suspicions about his private demons.
