James Varney, in the New Orleans Times Picayune (Aug. 27, 2004):

In recent weeks, the University of New Orleans scholar has emerged as a central figure in the highly partisan debate about Democratic candidate John Kerry's actions in combat during the Vietnam War. Brinkley's writings about Kerry -- in particular his biography "Tour of Duty," which was made with Kerry's cooperation -- have been cited by both the senator's opponents and supporters.

In a wide-ranging interview in the soaring lobby of his Uptown home, Brinkley said the dual use of his successful book is proof of his objectivity. Everything he has written and said to date, he insisted, has been based on the historical record.

"I'm not worried about it being seen as a campaign vehicle for Kerry," Brinkley said of the book. "I'm sympathetic to Kerry in his 20's, and it's no secret I think he would make a first-rate president. But my book has caused Kerry pain, too. The fact it's out may not have helped him. I mean, 'Unfit for Command' might not exist without it."

Brinkley's reference was to the nation's current No. 1 best seller, a book put out by an anti-Kerry group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The Veterans group essentially has declared war on Kerry in television advertisements and interviews, as well as in the book. In interviews, some of the group's leaders have said the publication of Brinkley's "Tour of Duty" was a galvanizing force in their campaign.

The Swift Boat veterans' charges are unfair, Brinkley said. He said he finds them no more credible than those leveled by Democrats that President Bush skirted his National Guard duties during the Vietnam War.

He has taken a more public stance in the current controversy because he is familiar with the historical record, Brinkley said. He is proud of "Tour of Duty," the first of his many books to become a national best seller. He said some of his public defense of the work has been launched to protect his own scholarship, not to defend a candidate he supports or who, Brinkley said, brought attention on himself by making his Vietnam experience a centerpiece of his campaign.

"It's true Kerry has brought on this fight," Brinkley said. "But I was looking for a story about Vietnam, and I think I struck the right story. What's made me angry is false accusations made against Kerry's military record, which, because I know the record, I feel I must respond to even if I risk appearing like Kerry's surrogate in the process."

But Brinkley's open admiration and support for Kerry have raised questions about his objectivity as an academic historian. The American Historical Association warns its members to be wary when venturing into politics, saying those who do so "may face a choice of priorities between professionalism and partisanship."

Professors at UNO are not permitted to take blatantly partisan positions while wearing their school robes, said Rick Barton, the university's vice chancellor of academic affairs. Asked if he thought Brinkley had crossed that line, Barton said, "I can't say if he has or not, but I trust him not to. There are two roles he's playing here, and he needs to be careful with that."

He has been careful, Brinkley said. While he did not dispute being one of several hosts for a Kerry fund-raiser in February 2003, he said his speech at a Kerry rally in New Orleans in March has been misinterpreted. In fact, Brinkley was pushed onstage because Kerry was late, and he wound up talking about how the swift boats used in Vietnam were comparable to the Higgins landing craft that were manufactured in New Orleans during World War II and used to tremendous effect during the D-Day invasion at Normandy.