This story regarding the awarding of John Kerry's medals is an opportunity for people to make a decision as to the credibility of the military's decision making in the Viet Nam era. Either the military is credible with respect to deciding whether standards have been met, or the military is not a credible authority for determining the truth of events. If one chooses the first option, then the matters regarding Viet Nam military service are closed: Senator Kerry deserved the medals he was awarded and President Bush had fulfilled his obligations in the Texas Air National Guard. If the second option appeals, then further investigation is meritted: President Bush needs to prove that he performed as required in the Air National Guard and Senator Kerry needs to answer the charges leveled by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth rather than merely cast aspersions as to their partisan intentions.
As with any other choice, this says more about the chooser than the objects of the coice. What is not a proper response is to say that one can separate the two and's in order to mix and match.
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