Bragging and Backstabbing

I was all set to make a little post saying that it wasn't the bragging lies of Kerry that bothered me so much, as it was the backstabbing.

If Kerry's lies along the 'Christmas in Cambodia' line were simply male puffery, I figured o well, he's not the first male to pump himself up and won't be the last. What really, really, gives me tummy aches is that a large portion of Kerry's lies were then used to slander his fellow soldiers. It's one thing to lie to make yourself look good, and another to lie to make someone else look bad. Both types of lies indicate weakness, but there's something especially nasty in Kerry's unjustified abuse of others - the more so since those others lack an equivalent platform in which to be heard.

but - the instapundit's dad points out a potential danger inherent to the braggart that I would not have foreseen. It sounds pretty plausible, given Kerry's history.