Via Little Green Footballs and Human Events Online, here's the Kerry spin on Christmas in Cambodia:

Today, on Fox News’ "Fox and Friends," Kerry Campaign Advisor Jeh Johnson had this to say to the show’s co-host Brian Kilmeade:

JOHNSON: John Kerry has said on the record that he had a mistaken recollection earlier. He talked about a combat situation on Christmas Eve 1968 which at one point he said occurred in Cambodia. He has since corrected the record to say it was some place on a river near Cambodia and he is certain that at some point subsequent to that he was in Cambodia. My understanding is that he is not certain about that date.

KILMEADE: I think the term was he had a searing memory of spending Christmas - back in 1986 in the senate floor in Cambodia.

JOHNSON: I believe he has corrected the record to say it was some place near Cambodia he is not certain whether it was in Cambodia but he is certain there was some point subsequent to that that he was in Cambodia.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

What to make of this? It occurs to me that, in 1968, the difference between being in Cambodia and being near Cambodia was not insignificant. In fact, the whole point of Kerry's now retracted claim that he was in Cambodia (and the reason why his memory of being there might have been "searing") was to show that President Nixon was lying when he said that American combat forces were not in Cambodia. Nixon wouldn't have been lying if Kerry had merely been near Cambodia. For purposes of the point Kerry was making on the Senate floor, if he wasn't actually in Cambodia he might just as well have been in Aspen.

This may be why Kerry is sticking to the story that later (on a date he can't remember) he was in Cambodia. And the fact that Nixon wasn't yet president in December 1968 may lend plausibility to Kerry's claim that, long after the fact, he merely got the date wrong. But, if the statements of people like Kerry comrade Steve Gardner are true, I don't understand how Kerry could have made it to Cambodia at any time by boat.

HINDROCKET adds: And when did Kerry ever "correct the record"? The best one can say is that he has told inconsistent stories over the years. But, as Byron York has pointed out:

In September 1997, during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific affairs, Kerry said, "I first was introduced to Cambodia when I spent Christmas Eve of 1968 in a river in Cambodia during the Vietnam conflict, and I found it to be a rather remarkable and very beautiful country...."

And as recently as last month, Kerry's principal biographer, Michael Kranish of the Boston Globe, repeated the "Christmas in Cambodia" story on the Hannity and Colmes show. So when did Kerry allegedly "correct the record?"

Also, Kerry's explanation raises more questions. We've now narrowed down the time period of Kerry's excellent adventure--he claims to have been in Cambodia between December 26, 1968, and the end of March, 1969, when he left Vietnam. That's only three months. And, in some versions of the story, Kerry claims to have been in Cambodia more than once. Kerry's whereabouts must be known and accounted for most, if not all, of that time.

Moreover, several of Kerry's crewmates have denied that their boat ever went to Cambodia, as have his commanding officers. Kerry kept a journal or diary when he was in Vietnam, and it apparently doesn't say anything about being in Cambodia. No crewmate or anyone else has supported Kerry's claim.

I suspect that if the mainstream media brought their investigative resources to bear to the same extent that they did in getting to the bottom of President Bush's Air National Guard record, we could get a pretty definitive answer as to whether Kerry ever set foot in Cambodia. And I think we all know what the answer would be. Reporters would find no more trace of John (pocketa, pocketa, pocketa) Kerry in Cambodia than of Walter Mitty commanding a Navy hyrdoplane.

By the way, if you're not following our Walter Mitty references, the (very) short story is here. It's a wonderful story; if you don't get any other benefit out of this election season, you should be sure to read it.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/mt/mt-diespammers.cgi/7440

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Let the spin begin:

» Is Kerry Playing Rope-A-Dope? from Way Off Bass
UPDATE! It doesn't happen often, but I'm always happy when I'm in agreement with a bonafide smart guy. [Read More]

Tracked on August 11, 2004 05:19 PM

» 12 Days in the Fog of War from Hold The Mayo
Now according to the corrected record the whole thing took place "some place on a river near Cambodia." This may be the only bit of truth in anything the Kerry campaign is and will say about this story. Technically Kerry's entire combat career took pla... [Read More]

Tracked on August 11, 2004 09:51 PM