By: E & P Staff Stung by a quote attributed to him in Friday's New York Times, author and historian Douglas Brinkley issued an unusual clarification this afternoon.
In a news analysis titled "Truth Be Told, the Vietnam Crossfire Hurts Kerry More," Jodi Wilgoren quoted Brinkley commenting on recent attacks against both Kerry and Bush relating to their Vietnam era service: "Every American now knows that there's something really screwy about George Bush and the National Guard, and they know that John Kerry was not the war hero we thought he was."
This "not the hero we thought he was" had to raise eyebrows, as Brinkley recently wrote a very favorable biography of Kerry centering on his Vietnam years. It certainly caught the attention of Matt Drudge, who highlighted it on his popular Web site.
Brinkley then issued this statement via U.S. Newswire, and paid for by Kerry-Edwards 2004:
"A story in the September 24 New York Times leaves the false impression that I think John Kerry was not 'the war hero we thought he was.' Nothing could be further from the truth. He was a great American fighting man in Vietnam and deserved all of his medals. Over the past year I have vigorously defended Kerry's military record and will continue to do so.
"My comment was meant to be about the political consequences of the anti-Kerry Swift boat attacks vs. the anti-Bush National Guard ones. I was speaking about public perceptions not my personal beliefs."
Drudge then linked to the clarification.
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