I'm not sure why people are worried about Kerry going up against the chickenhawk. Kerry knows how to fight back. Here's the way he plans to deal with attacks on his defense votes. He's not just going to explain his votes, he's going to use the attacks on his record to attack back. This guy is clearly a pro.
Here's an exceprt from a hard-hitting and progressive speech he gave on defending the country from terrorism. An excellent speech and worth seeing if you can.
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0227.html
"First, if I am President I will not hesitate to order direct military action when needed to capture and destroy terrorist groups and their leaders. George Bush inherited the strongest military in the world - and he has weakened it. What George Bush and his armchair hawks have never understood is that our military is about more than moving pins on a map or buying expensive new weapons systems.
America's greatest military strength has always been the courageous, talented men and women whose love of country and devotion to service lead them to attempt and achieve the impossible everyday.
But today, far too often troops are going into harm's way without the weapons and equipment they depend on to do their jobs safely. National Guard helicopters are flying missions in dangerous territory without the best available ground-fire protection systems. Un-armored Humvees are falling victim to road-side bombs and small-arms fire.
And families across America have had to collect funds from their neighbors to buy body armor for their loved ones in uniform because George Bush failed to provide it."