Surprise, Surprise. Now that Kerry is the de facto Democratic nominee it didn't take long for loyal Republicans to dig up some "dirt" on him. It appears that in the mid 60's as he graduated Yale he asked the draft board for a one year deferment so that he could continue his studies in Paris.

Senator John Kerry, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate who is trading on his Vietnam war record to campaign against President George W Bush, tried to defer his military service for a year, according to a newly rediscovered article in a Harvard University newspaper.

He wrote to his local recruitment board seeking permission to spend a further 12 months studying in Paris, after completing his degree course at Yale University in the mid-1960s.

The revelation appears to undercut Sen Kerry's carefully-cultivated image as a man who willingly served his country in a dangerous war - in supposed contrast to President Bush, who served in the Texas National Guard and thus avoided being sent to Vietnam.

However there is an important difference between him and Bush. When his deferment was turned down he immediately enlisted in the Navy and served his country well in Vietnam, returning with three purple hearts and a medal for gallantry.

"This means that Kerry didn't jump into all that heroic service until he was pushed, and it is a very nice piece of information," said Lucianne Goldberg, a prominent Republican campaigner.

Yeah, well what you forgot to point out there Lucianne is that Bush didn't jump at all.