President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry have made a campaign issue of war records – both theirs and their opponent’s.

But the candidates may be the only ones paying attention. A sampling of central Maine veterans shows they have other things on their minds these days, such as the war in Iraq and a sagging economy.

“Most everything they’re interested in here is the economy,” said Joseph Martineau, commander at the American Legion Post 24 in Rumford. “That’s our big concern.”

“I don’t hear too much about it,” said Jack LaChance, Post 158 commander in Lisbon. “Maybe the closer you get to the election you might hear more.”

For weeks, the campaigns have been busy lobbing bombs back and forth about the other candidate’s military records.

Bush surrogates have bashed Kerry’s anti-war protests and disputed his war hero status. Kerry, largely through campaign press releases and allies, has noted Bush’s alleged absenteeism in the National Guard and his premature military discharge to enroll at Harvard Business School.

TV ads that began airing this week play up Kerry’s wartime service in contrast to that of Bush.

Also this week, several former Navy officers held a press conference in Washington where they rebuked Kerry for his anti-war protests. Others have suggested he did not deserve the three Purple Hearts he was awarded during his time in Vietnam.

Paul Robitaille of Lewiston, who is a member of the American Legion Post 153 in New Auburn, said he has no qualms about Kerry’s war record.

“I respect him for going and the medals he got,” said Robitaille, who served on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War. “Bush didn’t go. He stayed.”

“I think at this point in time, we’re really concerned with what’s going on in Iraq and how the hell we’re going to get out,” said Emmett Stuart, vice commander at New Auburn Post. “We’ve got a lot of men over there and we’ve lost one already,” he said, referring to U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Francis Cunningham, formerly of Lewiston, who was killed in action when the vehicle he was riding in plunged into a ravine during the early stages of the war.

Kerry paid a visit last year to the post, accompanied by 2nd Congressional District Rep. Mike Michaud, also a Democrat.

Gary Purington, commander of Post 150 in Mechanic Falls, said veterans at his post do not generally talk about the wars they served in.

“Pretty much everybody keeps that to themselves here.”

He personally does not pay attention to the attacks. “I turn the channel because I think it’s a political game.”

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