When we look out over the political landscape, some features of it are hideous, some are ridiculous and some are offensively odious. What follows below is an awful amalgam of each found here in but one man, yet legion and echoed in those of his political party.

Sen. John Kerry…..

"Those who try to stifle the vibrancy of our democracy and shield policies from scrutiny behind a false cloak of patriotism miss the real value of what our troops defend," Kerry said, according to a prepared text of his remarks. "We will ask questions and we will defend our democracy," he said. In comments that sounded a lot like a presidential campaign stump speech, Kerry denounced Bush's policies on the economy, education, energy and health care.

Kerry, who is seeking election to a fourth term in the U.S. senate this November, vowed to defend a woman's right to have an abortion, protect workers' ability to unionize and fight Bush's policies that he said undermined civil rights. "We hear a lot about values from our friends on the other side of the aisle. But values to them are too often just code words for excluding some Americans from fully sharing in rights and opportunities," Kerry said. "We have to leave here tonight more determined than ever to resist their judicial assault on civil rights and to protect the right to choose -- and we must be determined to be a society that's inclusive and not exclusive," he said.

OVERREACTION

Earlier this week, Democratic leaders in Congress began openly questioning the White House's plans to expand the campaign against terrorism to countries besides Afghanistan. They criticized the Bush administration for failing to consult with Congress and accused it of having no clear view on how the war should be conducted. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle sparked the biggest storm of Republican criticism on Thursday after he said he thought the war had been successful so far but expressed concern that it was expanding "without at least a clear direction to date." He said Saudi-born fugitive Osama bin Laden must be found if the war was to be considered a success. Washington blames bin Laden and his al Qaeda network for the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. After the comments, Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott accused Daschle of trying to divide the nation and House Republican whip Tom Delay called the remarks "disgusting".

But Kerry, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, said the Republican response was a partisan political attack. "Their contrived, planned political response was one of the greatest overreactions of all time, because no one in our nation has done anything except express support for our troops and honor their service," Kerry said.

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The success of our counter-terror campaign and the security of our troops significantly depend upon the element of surprise, therefore, it is absolutely necessary to keep information about the anti-terror efforts at a minimum. For a man who served in the military, it is sad to see political motives trump military protocol and basic common sense. When politician’s careers are threatened by the events of the world around them, the motives behind their remarks demonstrate what is most important to them. Patriotism is in the eye of the beholder but “false cloaks” hang in the skeleton filled closets of the arrogant ruling class.