08 Aug 2004 Speaking from the Floor of the Senate, Lt. Kerry

Posted at 08:46h in Blog by

David of the No Caliban blog has a response to my query about whether Swift Boat veteran George Elliott is properly addressed as “Captain” (Human Events, Washington Times, his own affidavits and others) or “Lt. Commander” (Boston Globe, New York Times, others).

Assuming David’s theory about the mix-up is correct, this kind of error is not a good sign about the reliability of the reporting of the Boston Globe and New York Times on the Swift Boat Veterans story. Calling a Naval Captain, retired or not, “Lt. Commander” just because he once was one (weren’t they all?) is rather like calling Queen Elizabeth “Princess Elizabeth” just because she used to be a princess.

Will they next refer to John Kerry, properly addressed as “Senator John Kerry,” “Lt. Kerry,” because that once was accurate? I doubt it.



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