"Here's what I meant in my earlier post: considering that most Democrats (at least the ones that I know personally, anyway) are anti-war, it seems odd to me that a potential Democratic candidate would capitalize on his war service."

In the 1992 and 1996 elections, Democrats tried to make prior service a non-issue and even criticized Dole for trying to trade on his war hero status. It's all politics and playing the odds. I don't think either side really believes what they say about this, they just want to win.