Written by: Beck

Tommy Franks being interviewed, asked about Kerry's Vietnam service, "About that, I don't have an opinion. I served in Vietnam, and I know what those guys went through. I haven't looked through the paper work, I wasn't there, and I don't pretend to know what went on... the thing that crossed my desk that I paid attention to was what happened in 1971."

One of my best friends was in the Marine Corp, and only left when a car wreck left him unable to continue serving. It's hard for people who haven't served to understand just how seriously these people take loyalty. It's unbelievably important to them, since the only thing that keeps a man willing to hold the line, risk his life, and take the necessary risks involved in being a soldier is the knowledge that 1) you can depend on the guy next to you, and more importantly, 2) the guy next to you is depending on you.

More Franks: "I respect the fact that Senator John Kerry served his country and went to Vietnam... But by the same token, I don't have less respect for a man I observed as a Commander-in-Chief of all forces during a terribly important part of our history."

Asked if the campaign asked him to do this, "Absolutely not, I volunteered. I think the campaign was a little shocked when I volunteered for this. I'm known as a pretty independent guy."

Mark Shields continues to try to draw Franks into a discussion of the Swift Boat Vets and the various controversies over Kerry's medal awards, and Franks continues to refuse to take the bait. Frankly (HA!) this guy is a class act. He absolutely will not say anything negative about Kerry beyond discussion of how people perceived Kerry's anti-war Senate testimony as disloyal to his fellow soldiers. He doesn't even mind that Kerry opposed the war. He is only bothered by the betrayal of his fellows with his accusations that he "witnessed" virtually every war crime in the book.

"I did not react well when I saw what the Senator did when he got back from Vietnam... While I can give the Senator credit for standing up against a war he didn't believe in... it's a right he had, that's what makes this a great country... what crosses over the line is when he begins to describe the conduct of people for whom he was responsible as a leader, that's the part that I react to."