Evidently, Errol Morris was so excited about being added to the Virtual Memories blogroll, he wrote a completely unrelated opinion piece in today’s New York Times.
To me, John Kerry’s heroism encompassed both his actions in combat and his willingness to change his mind and stand up for what he thought was right. He realized that soldiers and civilians were dying in a war that wasn’t accomplishing its objectives. Yet he never tied this crucial piece of his biography into his campaign for the presidency. And in failing to do so, he left a blank space in his personal story – a blank space that made it possible for the criticisms of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth to be alarmingly effective.
By implying that his real heroism was fighting in Vietnam, Mr. Kerry also left himself open to the charge that he was somehow inauthentic. Americans have a complicated relationship with their military heroes: we expect them not to talk about their heroism. War heroes, in real life and in the movies, rarely speak about their courage in battle. Eisenhower didn’t. Nor did Kennedy, Bob Dole, or the president’s father.
Give it a read; Morris provides a pretty good story-based theory on why Kerry’s campaign failed.