Kerry's Yacht Trip Puts His Credibility in Hot Water

Secretary of State John Kerry's Nantucket vacation -- taken as chaos rocked Egypt -- may cost him a measure of credibility, experts are warning.

"I'm not sure he's really fully established himself as the go-to guy on foreign policy in the public's eye here in the United States," Michael O’Hanlon, of the Brookings Institution, told The Boston Herald. "I would think he'd want to define his leadership on some of the big crises of the day. Let him have his Fourth of July weekend, but recognize that this is an issue — Egypt — where he’s probably got to step up his game."

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Kerry's reputation is sinking after he was filmed and photographed sailing on the Fourth of July, while the military's ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was going on in Egypt.

The State Department initially denied Kerry was out on his $7 million ship, the Isabel, on the day of the coup, saying the yacht sighting was "completely inaccurate." But on Saturday, State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki admitted Kerry was "briefly" aboard the yacht, but insisted he "worked around the clock all day."

The Herald's front-page story, however, captured a series of photos of Kerry, wearing shorts and a polo shirt, paddling a kayak.

Another aide, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Friday that the denial stemmed from "confusion," adding that Kerry had apparently taken his grandson out for an hour-long sail.