[Note: Many of us here have been dealing with a dilemma for the past year: When is it the right time to criticize our Party and Nominee? Last March was the wrong time. August was even worse. And during the past few months since the election, emotions have been raw, and people have been a bit touchy about "piling on" Kerry. Now, with a change in leadership at the DNC,
it seems like an appropriate time to address some of the lessons we should take from November ...]
The Swift Boat ads worked because Democratic strategists didn't understand Military and Veteran culture.
While many soldiers in Vietnam hated the Viet Cong, and Jane Fonda, and even Nixon, the most-despised figure was the short-timing, self-serving, incompetent Lieutenant. Many vets blame the loss of the war on this near-mythical figure. When a large percentage of Vietnam Vets saw Kerry, and heard the stories about his Vietnam service, they filled in the blanks and saw him as the embodiment of all that was wrong with the Vietnam War.
[note: It
should go without saying that I find Kerry's service to be honorable, and think that he is justifiably proud of it, and the Swift Boat attacks and BushCo exploitation thereof was pure evil ...]
My first point is: the Swift Boat attacks were inevitable from the get-go; anyone truly knowledgeable about the Veteran community should have known that, and also known how resonant such attacks would be. It's unforgivable that the Kerry campaign was caught off-guard by this. Apparently, the handlers thought Kerry could smile and salute without engaging in any substantive discourse about Vietnam.
My larger point: Dems and liberals need to become knowledgeable about military and veterans issues. Most veterans and active-duty personnel would rather avoid going to War. Most disagree with Bush's policies. But the usual Democratic approach rubs them the wrong way, so they stick with the proverbial Devil they know.
An Army report released last year (the Mental Health Advisory Team report) showed morale in Iraq to be quite low:
>> 52 percent of troops surveyed reported low or very personal morale
>> 72 percent reported low or very low unit morale
Those surveys were done in Fall 2003. Most likely it's gotten much worse since then. There have also been reports of extreme dissatifaction among junior officers (lieutenants and captains), who aren't being allowed to do their jobs because of micro-management from higher command.
Veterans and active duty personnel are looking for a viable alternative to Bush's policies. It's up to Democrats to give them one.