you are right, Kerry is making a big deal out of his service

many in the media are calling him on it,

I read somewhere, there was an op-ed piece in the L.A. Times that said something to the affect of, one of the things they got out of the Dem convention was ,apparently Kerry just may have served in Vietnam. I think Kerry brings it up because the republican party hit Clinton over the head so hard about his Vietnam war views and tend to trump up their pro-military stance even though many did not serve. I think Kerry uses his record in reaction to and defense against the right's attempted co-option of a strong defense/military party plank . . . the reason why the other major candidates (Edwards, Cheney, Bush) aren't talking about war records is because they have none, do you not think Bush wouldn't use a war record/medal/ etc. if he could, I believe Bush Sr. and Dole did, I'm proud of their service to our country and they had every right to mention it . . .

full disclosure, I'm a registered Dem, but firmly believe many of our problems are due to the stranglehold both parties have on our political process, I tend to see things more along socio-economic lines than political ideology . . . and have for the last few years voted non-incumbent and third-party on principle . . .

sorry, I ramble . . . :)