I can’t speak for the Korean Vets, but as a Vietnam Vet, I don’t spend my life thinking about it. In fact, until this year my service was just a thing that occasionally generated a war story.

However, there are definitely unsettled issues. I have very strong feelings about those who gave Vietnam away in the end. Defeat is bad, but when its inflicted by your own countrymen, and they are proud of it, it’s a hell of a lot worse.

There are various other Vietnam issues floating around. There are lots of phony vets among street people, and there are some vets who were genuinely messed up (as in all wars). There’s the Agent Orange farce.

And, there’s baby boomer politicians who get wrapped up in it one way or the other. Clinton, Gore, Bush and Kerry all had to deal with it.

Vietnam won’t go away for a long time. And in this race, Vietnam, for John Kerry, is a character indicator. Choosing to run on it is to say “I’m a courageous and tough hombre.” When I saw the convention, I knew what was going to happen. The Swifties were going to kick him butt.

In general, it’s pretty pathetic to base your presidential campaign on less than 4 months of combat service.