Word: kerrey
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...Kerrey flourished in the Senate, where his candor and maverick streak made him a man to respect. But after his dismal 1992 presidential bid, his life took a new direction. He fell in love; a close friend his age died. "He was starting to look at his life in a lot of different ways," says Steve Jarding, his chief political operative at the time. In late 1998, Kerrey considered another White House run in 2000, then decided against it. As a result, Newsweek opted not to publish Vistica's story. "There's something going on in your psyche," Jarding told...
...weeks ago, Kerrey sent Jarding a copy of his V.M.I. speech. Should I give it? Kerrey asked. Jarding knew it wasn't a question at all. "It was something he needed to do," says Jarding. "He needed to get this off his conscience...
Confession, Kerrey told TIME late Friday afternoon, has been good for his soul, though it is hard to tell whether the glint in his bright blue eyes reflects anguish or anger. "I don't regret that it's public at all," he said. "I feel personally already better." His 32-year silence may trouble some, though Kerrey speaks for more than one generation when he says "most men in a war who have done something bad just keep it private all their lives." Many will wonder too just how voluntary the confession was, though Kerrey says he was planning...
While the war is never quite over for physically and psychically scarred veterans like Kerrey, these are normally private agonies, not public matters. Most Americans have long ago put Vietnam to rest; they want to move on. Though exposure of his story might help heal his wounds, it is less clear what it does for the nation...
...there are still things to be learned from his aching experience. The ambiguity at the heart of the raid--did Kerrey's squad accidentally kill civilians or deliberately massacre them?--mirrors the very nature of the war. For all his talk, Kerrey does not resolve the discrepancies: "Klann's got a memory of what happened. I've got a memory of what happened. They're both vivid. They're both awful." It's not a satisfying answer, especially from a politician revered for his candor. While much of the public has sympathized with Kerrey, this week he has to weather...