|
John Kerry,
who has been painted by some opponents as an aristocratic Washington
insider, began his political life as an anti-establishment war
protestor and activist.
The senator's official Web site says that after returning from
combat service in Vietnam, "he felt compelled to question
decisions he believed were being made to protect those in positions
of authority in Washington at the expense of the soldiers carrying
on the fighting in Vietnam."
Kerry helped found Vietnam Veterans of America and served as the
spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
"How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam?
How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"
he famously asked the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Kerry accused
the U.S. military of systematically committing war crimes and
atrocities in Vietnam. During a 1971 antiwar protest, he also
threw some of his military decorations onto the steps of the U.S.
Capitol.
Kerry's involvement
in the antiwar movement additionally marked the first steps in
his political career. Some analysts and writers thought him precociously
ambitious. In a 60 Minutes television interview during this period,
Morley Safer asked Kerry point blank, "Do you want to be
president?" Kerry replied with a "no" and a laugh.
--
By Jason Manning, Online NewsHour
|
