With all the recent talk about the military career of Sen. John Kerry, one thing is inescapable: He is a true hero (he has the shrapnel in his body and the testaments of those who fought with him and those whose lives he saved to prove it).

This fact comes shining through though the Republicans, and particularly the Bushes, have tried with their mean spiritedness and lies, yes, lies, to belittle his service to the country. And the reason for their attacks may be found in the fact that the current occupant of the Oval Office, with all of his tough talk and swagger, is not a real hero or a warrior as he tried to portray himself at the Republican convention.

Mr. Bush is a person who can’t think of a mistake that he has made when examples of his mistakes and poor judgment are strewn all around us, from the legions of those disenfranchised in Florida by his undemocratic actions through the lines of those unemployed because of his economic policies and the thousands killed because of his failure to heed apparent warnings of terrorist activity in this country contained in the presidential briefing document of 8/6/01 to those soldiers injured or killed as a result of his ill-conceived and deceptive foray into Iraq.

Through all of this one thing is predictable and that is the demagoguery and hypocrisy of Mr. Bush. He can be counted on not to accept responsibility for his poor judgment, cloak himself in the flag, say anything and play on our fears for blatantly political purposes through use of the “two D’s,” demagoguery and deception. He can be counted on to talk mightily about morality and then do the most immoral things, such as sending troops into war knowingly based on lies. He speaks about democracy in Iraq, but when he had an opportunity to stand up for democracy in this country in Florida, he chose to thwart democratic principles and the law and steal the presidency.

War Lies

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again and again; if the war was so just, then why did he not tell the American people the truth for going to war? If the war was so just, then why the need to change the reasons for going to war, all of which have proven to be untrue? The reason for the numerous changes in rationale for going to war is obvious; if the truth had been told, neither the Congress nor the American people would have approved.

Much is made about Mr. Bush being strong on national security. Based on recent polls, it appears that the American public has a misconception of strength, particularly with respect to national security and more particularly with respect to the current occupant. It is important to note that true strength is not measured by one’s inflammatory and boastful words, but rather by one’s deeds and the values and principles that underpin those deeds.

Accordingly, one demonstrates strength not by doing the easy things, like uttering demagogic words that play upon our emotions, but rather by doing the difficult things like accepting responsibility for one’s mistakes and taking action based upon the values and principles upon which this country is founded – values such as truth, the rights of the individual, the rule of law and the sovereignty of nations.

Sen. John Kerry has demonstrated his strength by, among other things, his acts of heroism on the battlefield, his humility in not being overly boastful about those acts, his acceptance of responsibility for his unpopular act of opposing the Vietnam War following his release from the Navy and his appreciation of the basic tenets upon which this country is founded, as exemplified by his acknowledgement that the United States should go to war because we have to, not because we want to.

The same qualities that the current occupant, who is strong on bravado but cannot account for his whereabouts in the National Guard, clearly has demonstrated he lacks by his repeated failure to accept responsibility for his actions, his apparent willingness to say or do anything for political expediency, including sending soldiers to their deaths based on lies, and most importantly, his callous disregard for the very principles upon which America is founded by sending the country to war based on lies.

And so this is the choice that the electorate faces in 2004, a real hero versus a hypocrite, a demagogue and God knows what else.