When conservatives questioned certain inconsistencies in John Kerry's narrative about his military service and his military service record (which to this day has never been fully released), the Democrats cried foul and invented the term Swiftboating to describe it -- even though the Swift Boat vets were actually members of the same unit as John Kerry and many of them served with him.

Will any of those Democrats raise their voices in condemnation of this little attack on John McCain by author and Al Gore relative Gore Vidal?

Asked what he thinks of McCain, Vidal calls him a "disaster," then tells Deborah Solomon, "Who started this rumor that he was a war hero? Where does that come from, aside from himself? About his suffering in the prison war camp?"

Solomon replies: "Everyone knows he was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam." To which Vidal responds: "That’s what he tells us."

Excuse me?

"Rumor"?

"Aside from himself?"

"That's what he tells us"?

McCain's flight suit and gear,
"Hanoi Hilton" Museum

Well, why don't we see what someone else has to say about the matter.

Is that enough for you yet, Mr. Vidal?

I wonder -- John McCain asked that the Swift Boat Vets stop their truthful attacks on John Kerry because he considered them unseemly. Will Kerry return the favor and condemn this false attack upon the well-documented heroism of John McCain during his time as a prisoner of war?

Will the media report on this false claim about McCain by a debauched celebrity with the same degree of vitriolic contempt that they displayed for the truthful words of decorated veterans that served with Kerry?

Will we hear from Al Gore about the disgusting aspersions cast by his cousin?

And I ask again -- will Obama's "new kind of politics" include speaking out against the sort of dripping hatred that Vidal displayed in this interview?

As an aside, Vidal also stated in another recent interview that the United States is a dictatorship with a fascist government. It seems pretty clear, however, that he demonstrates his words to be false by their very utterance -- if America were really a fascist state he would not have made these scurrilous comments for fear that he would be imprisoned or executed.

H/T LGF, JammieWearingFool, Ed Driscoll, QandO

UPDATE -- 6/15/2008: Other bloggers are beginning to chime in on this one at Hot Air, Commentary's Contentions

Here's hoping the sainted William F. Buckley will be granted the privilege of waiting outside the Pearly Gates to carry out this promise before Saint Peter directs Vidal to his infernal reward.

More really needs to be made of Vidal's undeniably evil words.

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