Douglas Brinkley, author of the John Kerry biography Tour of Duty, was on Steve Malzberg's radio show today. He called on John Kerry to release his military records, saying: "Clearly some of these military records should be made available to the press."

Brinkley also said that if the Navy investigation reveals deception in connection with Kerry's medals, it "could be" the "death knell" for Kerry's campaign. Professing uncertainty about what to make about the Swift Boat Vets' claims, Brinkley said:

Right now it's unclear. So we have to just wait to see what all this adds up to.

While the piece linked to above provides only brief excerpts from the Brinkley interview, it sounds like he is trying to distance himself from Kerry, and has less than full confidence in Kerry's honesty. Considering that Brinkley's book has been termed a hagiography, and that until now he has been an unabashed advocate for Kerry, that's a striking development.

Posted by John at 05:15 PM  |    |  

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