Now about that purple heart (Part 2)...

And about those missing service records...

I do believe that each election tosses up (or perhaps throws up) at least one debate point that is so totally irrelevant that it becomes an object of fascination to the candidates, and eventually to the electorate as well. Sort of like those who gather at the site of a train wreck, we are unable to avert our gaze from the disaster. The candidates, sensing that at last they have our attention, proceed to fight along this wierd line if it takes all summer - and all autumn. Which it does. To me the only significance remaining in the record of John Kerry is that he saw, and acknowledged, that the Viet Nam war was a mistake. The only significance of the record of George Bush is that it leaves room for supposition that he received special attention. To those who are astonished that the rich and powerful catch a break; get conscious!
Now, however, we are in serious danger of having these irrelevancies foist upon us in the debates. A hundred million people spending an hour watching a spitting contest about these paleontological events means 100,000,000 person-hours of lost productivity. The possibility of this caused me to harken back to the dawn of television. Yes, I remember the ultra-famous Kennedy-Nixon Debates! The only thing I remember, aside from Richard Nixon's sweaty visage, is that most of the action seemed focused on the question of just which candidate would go to greater lengths than the other to defend The Tachen Islands And Quemoy And Matsu. Anyone remember them? You could look it up. Be aware though, that the names have changed. You will need to look for Jinmen and ... Now the importance of these places, best I can remember, is that they were occupied at the time by troops from Formosa (remember Formosa?). Our stalwart presidential hopefuls wanted to assure, and reassure, and rereassure, the American People that they stood foursquare ready to lend all necessary assistance to keep the Army of the Republic of China (Formosa) on those islands. This in spite of the fact that a sniper on the mainland could do a pretty fair job of picking off the soldiers, if they didn't keep their heads down. And in spite of the fact that the islands were totally indefensible if China really wanted to take them over instead of merely throwing a hissyfit over them. And in spite of the fact that they had no value whatsoever by any stretch of the imagination.
After November 1960, no one ever heard of those islands again. Somewhere along the way, they reverted to mainland China. I don't know when, how, or why. Nor do I care. But, back in those now halcyon days of the Cold War, and the Red Menace, and the Missile Gap, and the Space Race, and the First Televised Presidential Debates, those little pieces of land became symbolic of all that was foremost in the minds of the presidential hopefuls.
Let us hope that after November 2nd, as with the Tachens etc. in 1960, we will no longer hear about who better served his country back in the dark ages of the second millenium. I bet we can count on it.