Hanoi Jane Picks A Candidate
Jane Fonda has endorsed – or at least said that she is voting for, Barack Obama.
Less examined is whether some celebrity endorsements may actually cost a candidate votes. This could be one of those less desirable votes for part of the country, especially if Obama was hoping to attract some crossover Republicans if he's the Democratic candidate come fall.
Obama, who was recently named the most liberal member of the Senate by the nonpartisan National Journal, has sought to portray himself as the earliest anti-Iraq war opponent and tagged his sole remaining opponent, Sen. Hillary Clinton, with voting to authorize the use of force in Iraq.
The problem for those of a certain generation that endured the Vietnam War and the sometimes violent domestic conflict that accompanied it at home is that during Fonda's controversial wartime visit to North Vietnam, she was photographed at a Communist anti-aircraft gun battery.
According to the photo caption distributed at the time, she joined North Vietnamese soldiers there in singing an antiwar song while preparing to shoot at attacking Americans.
Fonda, of course, did so much more than just sit at the battery. She was also part and parcel of the North Vietnamese propaganda machine – a willing participant to that. More importantly, after the POWs began returning, she denied they had been tortured:
During this visit she also visited American prisoners of war (POWs), and brought back messages from them to their families. When cases of torture began to emerge among POWs returning to the United States, Fonda called the returning POWs "hypocrites and liars."[14] She added, "These were not men who had been tortured. These were not men who had been starved. These were not men who had been brainwashed." On the subject of torture in general, Fonda told The New York Times in 1973, "I'm quite sure that there were incidents of torture… but the pilots who were saying it was the policy of the Vietnamese and that it was systematic, I believe that's a lie." Several American POWs and other eyewitnesses, including former POW, and future US Senator and Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, disagree with this sentiment.
Yes, I imagine John McCain does disagree with her assessment. He bears the scars to this day of the torture Hanoi Jane denied. Do I think this will be a huge blow to Obama? No, of course not. Do I believe it will make even a few people more likely not to vote for him? Probably. There are some of us who do remember Hanoi Jane's antics during the war. And we still do not forgive her.
By Maggie, April 3, 2008 @ 6:55 am
Well now … The White Witch has spoken.
Sen. McCain just became my Prince Caspian.
Shove it, Jane.
By David M, April 3, 2008 @ 8:40 am
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the – Web Reconnaissance for 04/03/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.
http://thunderrun.blogspot.com/2008/04/web-reconnaissance-for-04032008.html
By Uncle Fester, April 3, 2008 @ 9:45 am
I have a patch on my vest:
"I’ll forgive Jane Fonda when the Jews forgive Hitler"
By Mockinbird, April 3, 2008 @ 3:26 pm
May Jane Fonda push the crap cart in Hell.
By pst314, April 3, 2008 @ 8:27 pm
A crap cart? Okay, but Dante had some better suggestions: In The Inferno, liars, purjurers and evil counselors are in the Eighth Circle where they are afflicted by terrible diseases. Traitors are in the Ninth Circle, embedded in a lake of ice–except for a few prominent traitors such as Judas, who are in Satan’s mouths, who chews them for eternity.
By martian, April 4, 2008 @ 8:00 am
It may not change any minds, but for those of us who grew up in the 60s, and weren’t anti-war protestors, Hanoi Jane will always be a traitor who only escaped prosecution and execution for treason because she was a prominent celebrity. The fact that she supports Obama only underscores his far left record, his refusal to put his hand over his heart during the national anthem, his asociation with the America hating, anti-semitic, racist Wrong Rev. Wright and his marriage to a woman who has never in her adult life felt any pride in her country until her lefty leaning hubby won his first primary. My 17 year old daughter wants to move to Canada if the messiah gets elected. I haven’t told her yet that they are even more liberal up there but it underscores how even young people can see through his rhetoric when they actually stop to think about it.