So What Else Was Senator Kerry Hiding?

Gee, Mr. Senator anything else you want to tell us about after the fact? This gets filed in the truth is better than fiction category. After all the media’s falling over John Kerry and his superior intellect; we find out that he scored less than George W. Bush. That he received 4 D’s and one in political science. Now I understand. John Kerry, the intellectual man. In Kerry’s famous words, “Do you know who I am?” Yep, a solid “C” student.

During last year’s presidential campaign, John F. Kerry was the candidate often portrayed as intellectual and complex, while George W. Bush was the populist who mangled his sentences.

But newly released records show that Bush and Kerry had a virtually identical grade average at Yale University four decades ago.

In 1999, The New Yorker published a transcript indicating that Bush had received a cumulative score of 77 for his first three years at Yale and a roughly similar average under a non-numerical rating system during his senior year.

Kerry, who graduated two years before Bush, got a cumulative 76 for his four years, according to a transcript that Kerry sent to the Navy when he was applying for officer training school. He received four D’s in his freshman year out of 10 courses, but improved his average in later years.

The grade transcript, which Kerry has always declined to release, was included in his Navy record. During the campaign the Globe sought Kerry’s naval records, but he refused to waive privacy restrictions for the full file. Late last month, Kerry gave the Navy permission to send the documents to the Globe.

The media and late night talk shows had a field day with jokes that Bush was stupid and the reference to being to dumb to be President. I guess they would have thought twice after seeing Kerry’s records.

The transcript shows that Kerry’s freshman-year average was 71. He scored a 61 in geology, a 63 and 68 in two history classes, and a 69 in political science. His top score was a 79, in another political science course. Another of his strongest efforts, a 77, came in French class.

Under Yale’s grading system in effect at the time, grades between 90 and 100 equaled an A, 80-89 a B, 70-79 a C, 60 to 69 a D, and anything below that was a failing grade. In addition to Kerry’s four D’s in his freshman year, he received one D in his sophomore year. He did not fail any courses.

So the media has gone from Kerry the superior intellect to “he didn’t fail any courses.” My how the standard has been lowered. So after all the puff pieces on Kerry and his brilliance by the media we find out that he was just as non-serious about college as was President Bush. What was said, “Who was the moron?” And they say there is no bias in the media.

Sen. John F. Kerry’s grade average at Yale University was virtually identical to President Bush’s record there, despite repeated portrayals of Kerry as the more intellectual candidate during the 2004 presidential campaign.

The bets quote of the day comes from The Moderate Voice.

We’ll simply say this:

We never thought John Kerry was that smart.

The reason: Bob Shrum.

In a further brilliant move was Kerry’s unwillingness to sign the Form 180 during the campaign. Now that he has released the information, what was he so afraid of?

Senator John F. Kerry, ending at least two years of refusal, has waived privacy restrictions and authorized the release of his full military and medical records.

The records, which the Navy Personnel Command provided to the Globe, are mostly a duplication of what Kerry released during his 2004 campaign for president, including numerous commendations from commanding officers who later criticized Kerry’s Vietnam service.

The lack of any substantive new material about Kerry’s military career in the documents raises the question of why Kerry refused for so long to waive privacy restrictions. An earlier release of the full record might have helped his campaign because it contains a number of reports lauding his service. Indeed, one of the first actions of the group that came to be known as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was to call on Kerry to sign a privacy waiver and release all of his military and medical records.

But Kerry refused, even though it turned out that the records included commendations from some of the same veterans who were criticizing him.

Kos seems to be beside himself as to how Kerry did not release these documents during the campaign. Maybe Kos, your boy just wasn’t too smart after all and maybe there is more to the story still?

Jesus, they had additional substantive evidence that the Swift Boat Liars were full of shit and refused to release it. The incompetent way that matter was handled knows no bounds. Kerry’s excuse?

Well, releasing those records would’ve exposed many of those lies and defused the story. By not releasing them, they gave the impression that they were trying to hide something, further fueling the Swift Boat fantasies.

However, its hard to imagine someone could be that foolish. I tend to agree more with the theory over at Blogs For Bush. Especially Update III with a comment from Swift Boat Veteran For Truth John O’Neill.

We called for Kerry to execute a form which would permit anyone to examine his full and unexpulgated military records at the Navy Department and the National Personnel Records Center. Instead he executed a form permitting his hometown paper to obtain the records currently at the Navy Department.