Purple Heart Problem?

And now the most engrossing two minutes in television, the latest from the political grapevine:

Purple Heart Problem?

John Kerry's hometown newspaper, the Boston Globe, reports that his commanding officer in Vietnam questioned whether Kerry deserved one of the three purple hearts that got Kerry an early ticket home.

Lieutenant Commander Grant Hibbard remembers -- "[Kerry] had a little scratch on his forearm, and he was holding a piece of shrapnel." What's more, according to Hibbard, Kerry's fellow soldiers said at the time that they didn't think they had received any enemy fire.

Hibbard says he questioned Kerry about the incident, but Kerry was so persistent about earning a purple heart that he reluctantly dropped the matter. The paper did report that its investigation indicated Kerry had acted heroically in other instances in Vietnam.

Commission Grandstanding?

Sept. 11 victims' family members who have been hissing at Bush officials and applauding Bush critics have gotten a lot of media and commission attention. But a larger group of victims' families have written a letter to National Security adviser Condoleezza Rice, thanking her for her testimony last week and accusing some on the 9/11 commission of -- "grandstand[ing] for political gain."

The letter, signed by 40 family members, says -- "We believe Dr. Rice when she says that the president 'would have moved heaven and earth' to [prevent 9/11] had he known such an attack ... was imminent. Any suggestion otherwise is incredible and inflammatory."

Dem Party: Remove Ad

The Florida Democratic Party is demanding that the St. Petersburg Democratic Club immediately remove the -- "reprehensible" ad it placed in a local paper, and then issue a formal apology.

The ad reads -- "[Donald] Rumsfeld [has] said of Iraq, 'We have our good days and our bad days.' We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say 'This is one of our bad days,' and pull the trigger."

Florida Democratic officials, quoted by the Washington Times, insist the ad -- "does not in any way convey the opinion ... of mainstream Democrats."

Dressed for Success?

Remember last week we told you how Sam Walls, a candidate for the Texas state legislature, was under pressure to drop out of the Republican primary race after photos of him in women's clothing and earrings began circulating around his district?

Well, Sam Walls stayed in the race, and the primary was held yesterday. Walls -- a front-runner earlier in the race -- lost to Rob Orr, by a margin of 60 to 40 percent.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report