More from the Swift vets

Our actions have consequences, things we say and do in the past can often come back to haunt us. John Kerry is learning this lesson the hard way again. The Swiftboat Vets are releasing a new add and are using Kerry's own words to condemn him. On several occasions Kerry said in interviews he threw away his medals he received from Vietnam. Later he said he only threw away the service ribbons and not the medals themselves.

This is old news and normally wouldn't be a very effective add. However, one block of votes Kerry is targeting is the veteran's vote. In the early 1970s, it wasn't popular to be a veteran and many vets did protest the war once they got back. However, Kerry is trying to run as a war hero and they don't throw away something as precious as their medals. Now the focus of the adds is not whether Kerry threw away his ribbons or medals.

To the vets, if he threw away EITHER, he said what those metals represented was not worth anything. The question of should we have been in Vietnam is still open, but the actions of those who served honorably there is not open. They were asked by their country to go and they went and served to the best of their abilities. Their sacrifices were not in vain and their metals were and are honorable. By replaying Kerry's audio clip where he proudly claimed to throw away his medals, the Swift Vets are reminding Vietnam vets what Kerry thought of their own service back then. Again this normally would not be a big issue. After all, President Clinton didn't go to Vietnam at all. But Kerry is running as a war hero and hero's don't throw away their medals.