John Kerry did it again. In an interview with the Boston Globe, Kerry insists that his full military records have been made public, and challenges his critics to do the same, and George Bush as well:

The furor over military credentials hasn't ended with the campaign. Kerry pledged to sign Form 180, releasing all of his military records, but challenged his critics, including Bush, to do the same.

''I want them to sign it, I want [swift boat veterans] John O'Neill, Roy Hoffmann, and what's their names, the guys on the other boat," Kerry said. ''I want their records out there. They have made specific allegations about my record, I know things about their records, I want them out there. I'm willing to sign it, to put all my records out there. I'm willing to sign it, but I want them to sign it, too."

Kerry later confirmed that his decision to sign the form is not conditional on any others signing, but he expressed lingering bitterness over double standards on military service.

''Let me make this clear: My full military record has been made public," Kerry said. ''All of my medical records and all of my fitness reports, every fitness report involving each place I served, is public. Where are George Bush's still? Where are his military records? End of issue."

Er, no. Kerry knows that this isn't true, because he told Tom Brokaw that very thing just before the election. Perhaps John Kerry doesn't want to recall it now, but on October 28th, the week before the election, Brokaw asked him about the IQ tests that he took in the military, which I noted in this post:

Brokaw: Someone has analyzed the President's military aptitude tests and yours, and concluded that he has a higher IQ than you do.

Kerry: That's great. More power. I don't know how they've done it, because my record is not public. So I don't know where you're getting that from.

Later on, when NBC aired the interview a second time, they edited that response down to exclude the admission, although the transcript remains on their site. Perhaps John Kerry thought that NBC's historical revisionism had gotten him off the hook.

The fact is that Kerry's full Navy records have never been released, and probably never will, unless someone sues the military for a Freedom of Information Act release. Kerry isn't about to allow that file out, as his discharge papers will show that Kerry got booted out on a bad-conduct discharge due to his post-Viet Nam activities, which Thomas Lipscomb and the New York Sun confirmed two days after the interview. If they are released, his political career is over.

Kerry may well believe that a good offense makes for the best defense. It's likely the only defense he truly has left. (See Beldar for more details.)

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