Turfgrass said:
Has anyone stopped to ponder just how pathetic this is? For years we've been hearing from the Democrats that President Bush is a dummy, an illegitimate president, a liar, a military deserter, a "moral coward" and another Hitler--but now Kerry is begging Bush to use his moral authority to get him out of a fix that he himself created by running a campaign based almost entirely on "war hero" braggadocio.
Good point Turf. I just saw on TV where they brought up the fact that Ginsberg resigned because he was an advisor. When the Democratic spokesperson acknowledged that the same thing happened w/them, he was silent when asked if their 'advisors' would resign as well. S.O.S.
Wonder why Kerry doesn't sue these ppl for slander or if 80% of this book is true?
Local readers have hard time finding new book
By TIM PAPPA , The Virginian-Pilot
? August 25, 2004
Bookstores in Hampton Roads and across the nation have been swamped by orders for ?Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry? and battered by complaints about their inability to stock the book, which questions the Vietnam-era actions of Sen. John F. Kerry.
The publisher, Regnery Publishing Inc. of Washington , rushed the book to stores ahead of schedule without printing nearly enough to meet the demand. As a result, bookstores and their employees have found themselves as much under siege as Kerry, the Democratic nominee for the presidency.
?It?s the most insane thing I?ve ever seen in bookstores,? said Geno Seay, merchandising manager at Borders in the Hilltop section of Virginia Beach. ?We?ve never had it make it to the sales floor.?
Tricia Roulstone of Virginia Beach said that she was eager to buy the book Tuesday at that store and that she was surprised and suspicious when she was told it wasn?t available.
?Unfit for Command,? by John E. O?Neill and Jerome R. Corsi, accuses Kerry of lying about his wartime record and betraying comrades by returning from Vietnam and alleging widespread war crimes by U.S. troops. O?Neill, the co-writer, is a leading member of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that is airing television advertisements that also are highly critical of Kerry.
Roulstone questioned the store clerks about the situation.
She said later that she wanted to know why the book was so hard to find while the Borders ?prominently? displayed books critical of President Bush.
?He started this,? she said, referring to Kerry. ?The president should not be determined by a war that happened decades ago. It should be based on competency.?
Other area customers have also complained about the book?s absence, said Brad Mattocks, the store manager.
In fact, people nationwide have lodged thousands of complaints against leading book retailers Borders and Barnes & Noble , accusing them of favoring or suppressing the book.
?Very false,? Mattocks said, pinning the uproar on flawed reports in the news media. ?False 100 percent. We are in the business of selling books.? Catherine Sprouse, store manager of the Barnes & Noble store on Virginia Beach Boulevard in Virginia Beach, said she receives daily shipments of the book but that reserve orders get them all, leaving none for the sales floor.
In Portsmouth, Broad Street Books? stock of ?Unfit for Command? is out, said owner Susan Weaver . More are expected by the end of the week.
?I never get a chance to get them on the shelves,? Weaver said.
And Prince Books in Norfolk is sold out, said owner Sarah Pishko .
The publisher pre-empted a September release by shipping copies Aug. 6 to take advantage of the media buzz, said Jeff Carneal, chief executive officer of Regnery. Initial orders of the book were low ? about 30,000 ? so the early release couldn?t stand up to the mounting demand, according to Publishers Weekly, a trade publication.
The company has reprinted copies seven times since, now totaling about 550,000 with about 325,000 shipped, the publication reported.
?I wish the supply chain was shorter,? Carneal said.
Borders and Barnes & Noble, as well as online bookseller Amazon.com, rank ?Unfit for Command? as their current No. 1 seller.
Beach resident Doug Wilkins took Borders? last reserve copy Tuesday around noon. He said that about five other co-workers had wanted him to pick up a copy for them and that he had figured the shelves would be stocked.
?I just assumed it was a huge order,? Wilkins said.
Jim Bailie, a retired 26-year Navy veteran, secured a copy of the book weeks ago with Borders? first shipment. On Tuesday, the Beach resident bought ?Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War,? a book published this year that gives a more favorable review of Kerry?s record in Vietnam.
Bailie, whose car displays a ?Vets Against Kerry? sticker, said he wants to compare the two books. He said he isn?t concerned so much about Kerry?s medals as much as ?what he said about me and everyone else when he came back.?
?He won?t get my vote,? Bailie said.
Staff writer Brianne Warner and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
