Admiral disputes Kerry's 1st Purple Heart

In today's account of the ongoing Kerry in Vietnam scrum, we find the words of Rear Adm. William L. Schachte, Jr.:

'Kerry nicked himself with a M-79 [grenade launcher],' Schachte said in a telephone interview from his home in Charleston, S.C. He said, 'Kerry requested a Purple Heart.'

The whole mess has devolved to name calling and credibility smearing on both sides. Kerry is on the losing end of it. Schachte has declared himself an independent who really didn't want to get involved until he found his integrity attacked. Not a good way to win friends, influence people and get elected.

As I've said before, this kind of attention is not doing Kerry's election campaign any favors. Clearly, they are on the defensive with the voter's attention drawn to his potential shortcomings.

Already, the LA Times is speculating that the flap is wearing down Kerry's polls.