You might expect Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry to respond to the “Medalgate” charges with the truth. Did he or did he not throw his medals (or ribbons) away? And if not, we’d all like to see them. After all, Americans love to distrust politicians, many times for good reason.
But the fact that Kerry has decided to waffle on this issue is even more important after making the statement over the weekend that the truth will decide this election.
“I think truth is on the line in this election: the truth that a president shares with the American people, the truth of how we go to war, the truth of choices about our lives, the truth of how we improve our lives and deal with the issues facing our citizens,” he said.
But rather than face the truth, Kerry has decided to point the political finger, and this one’s pointing in President Bush’s direction.
Kerry said that this whole issue about his medals is “coming from a president who can’t even prove that he showed up for duty in the National Guard.”
And while he has every right to question Bush’s military service–wrongly or rightly–the American people deserve more. Even a third-grader understands the futility of answering a question with a question, and Kerry has done nothing more than answer the questions of “Medalgate” with questions of Bush’s service.
Kerry should be straightforward. Either he threw his medals away or he didn’t. And if he didn’t, where are they? And if he did, fine. Own up to it. Take the political hit. There’s nothing worse than a politician unwilling to own up to his actions.