When the effete act tough

There’s always something exquisitely amusing about a weak, ineffectual figure posturing as a tough guy.  Kerry put himself into that ludicrous position the other day when, as part of his build-up to running again, he tried to act tough about the Swift Boat Vets:

Asked if he dreads the prospect of being “Swift-Boated” all over again, Kerry counters that he would relish such a fight.

“I’m prepared to kick their ass from one end of America to the other,” he declares. “I am so confident of my abilities to address that and to demolish it and to even turn it into a positive.”

Kerry’s tough talk triggers laughter from John O’Neill, a fellow Vietnam veteran who helped found Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth and wrote a blistering 2004 book on Kerry, “Unfit for Command.”

“Well, he’s got eight times as much time to prepare for us as he spent in Vietnam,” says O’Neill, referring to Kerry’s short tour of duty.

He’s not going to be kicking any butt any time soon until he publicly and completely releases his military records.  Until then, he’s a marshmallow striking poses in front of his own mirror.  Of course, after he releases those records, he might even be seen as something worse — such as a proven liar.