Understatement of the day: "Kerry has never been shy about discussing Vietnam."

Meanwhile, Opinion Journal notes "Kerry's Medals Strategy" of trying to innoculate himself on national security by citing his service in Vietnam:

We rather doubt this gambit will work, and it shouldn't. A candidate's service history is one window on his character, but far more important is his judgment on the major security issues of his time. In Mr. Kerry's case, he has taken the dovish side of nearly every foreign policy debate since he entered public life.

Is it me, or isn't there a subtle undercurrent in Kerry's dialogue that unless you've been to the Big Muddy, you're less than a man? It certainly helps to explain his statement last week that serving in the National Guard was equivalent to running to Canada.