Fitness to Serve - O

On Saturday, August 21, 2004, Wayne Resnick, http://kfi640.com/hosts/wayneresnick.html, dedicated the majority of his talk radio show to setting the record straight concerning the allegations levied against Sen. John Kerry by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.("SBVfT") http://kerrylied.com/. and www.scaryjohnkerry.com/vietnam.htm.

Resnick spoke as if with absolute, first hand knowledge and authority about the events presented in the Unfit For Command book authored by John O'Neill and Jerome Corsi. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0895260174/002-5281770-9186409. Resnick methodically twisted the facts as presented by the SBVfT, misquoted them and then presented, according to him, a moment by moment "factual" accounting of what "really" happened. At no time during his radio broadcast did Mr. Resnick indicate that he had been in Vietnam, on the boat with Sen. Kerry nor that he had ever served in Vietnam. However, he did assure his audience that he had all of the real facts as opposed to the information being presented by O'Neill and Corsi.

Prior to taking a few phone calls, Mr. Resnick offered his professional analysis of the motivation behind the SBVfT and other Vietnam veterans who have taken a position against Sen. John Kerry. According to Resnick, the Vietnam veterans are not politically motivated they are psychologically motivated. Resnick stated that everybody knows that the veterans of the Vietnam war are filled with the enormous shame and quilt they have been harboring for over 30 years. He said that their shame and guilt has made them angry, and over the years they have become psychologically disturbed. His implication was that the veterans are emotionally disturbed because they participated in a war that everyone knew, just like Iraq, we should never have been involved in. He actually stated that the veterans from the Vietnam war are psychologically disturbed because veterans, including Sen. Kerry, have confirmed witnessing senseless massive atrocities during their service. He reminded his audience that these atrocities were reported by Sen. Kerry as soon as he returned to the United States.

Notwithstanding the specious, political motivation behind Mr. Resnick's comments, and assuming that his theory is correct, wouldn't his assessment of the psychologically flawed Vietnam veterans include Sen. Kerry and the 3 or 4 veterans who currently support him? If so, is America potentially in a very dangerous position should Sen. Kerry be elected?

Tom Eagleton, the former Junior Senator from Missouri, would certainly weigh in on the issue of psychological and emotional fitness to serve. George McGovern was forced to remove Eagleton as a Vice Presidential candidate when less than two weeks after their nomination the two candidates met at McGovern's vacation retreat in South Dakota where Eagleton also admitted that he had been in the hospital three times from 1960 to 1966, twice undergoing shock treatment for depression. As a result of massive Newspaper and party pressure demanding his resignation, a week later he did so.

If on the other hand, Resnick's public character assassination of the Vietnam veteran's emotion fitness was politically motivated, then one should examine the fact that with wild and recklessly abandon, he used corporate funding, as detailed on the sponsor list on his website, to attack the credibility of an entire generation of American heroes.

Immediately upon learning that several high profile entertainers had used their status to malign President Bush at a New York fund raiser, the public offered its response in the form of a massive campaign to the SlimFast parent company. The result was that the leader of the Bush basher's, Ms. Whoopie Goldberg, promptly lost her endorsement. The SlimFast organization was quick to respond to the emails, phone calls, FAXes and letters from decent Americans who were troubled by the fact that a corporation would support the character assassination of the President. SlimFast did not and apparently does not support such abhorrent behavior, thus Ms. Goldberg is no longer associated with the company.

Therefore, if the Vietnam veterans are in fact psychologically damaged, including Sen. Kerry, we need to step up to the mark and help them. We also need to encourage Sen. Kerry, for the sake of our National security, to follow Tom Eagleton's example and step out of the Presidential race. However, if Resnick is a liar, a deliberate character assassin and politically motivated to harm the good reputation of our veterans, we need to step up to the mark by immediately insisting that his sponsors rethink their support of his message.