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In reply to the discussion: Hillary Clinton on Iraq vote: ‘I still got it wrong. Plain and simple.’ [View all]karynnj
(59,501 posts)As to a secret club he joined at Yale, his entire life since 1971 has been pretty public. He has - in spite of being a member of the elite by birth, as well as anything at Yale, but he has shown a genuine concern for others less privileged.
When he returned from Vietnam, his protests were not just to end the war and a call for a better foreign policy - he spoke from the heart that the government had to do right by the vets - both medically and to help many reintegrate into society. This was NOT for him, he returned as the well loved son of an upper class family and a member of a powerful extended family. His fiancee, from another elite family, was also there for him. In addition, he had a Yale education and the connections that came from it -- especially as he was the head of the student union for both his junior and senior years and the star of the debate team for all four years. The life he led before entering the service was still there for him.
(In fact, he spoke a bit of that early life in France last week. He was in the town where his grandparents had an estate that the Nazis destroyed after using it, but which was rebuilt by the family so Kerry and all his cousins (His mom was one of 11 kids) played there in summers. )
Your concern for S&B, ignores that there were many things he did that showed who he was and what he cared for. He values integrity and has lived a life that shows it. In his case, if he had no values, he had a much easier path to becoming President. It would have been easier if he simply declared he was a Republican. Imagine - an eloquent clean cut man, very diplomatic, a war hero - because he kept his men safe and showed bravery and intelligence, a pilot, a college athlete in 4 sports, and the best debater over all the colleges Yale debated with. Obviously with no values - no speaking out on Vietnam. Speaking GOP lines (I said no values) - tell me the Republicans would not have pushed him forward.
Instead, he was the man willing to risk his dream of running for office to speak out on Vietnam - and when there risked it again when he investigated the Contra gun and drug running at the height of Reagan's popularity, Then he challenged the powers that be in both parties investigating BCCI. Yet you are troubled that he joined a powerful group when asked in college.