...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Monday, February 09, 2004
      ( 11:09 AM )
 
Okay, Then, Let's See Those Military Records, Mr. President

If you're following the AWOL story - it's got legs, big, fat hairy ones that the mainstream media hasn't noticed yet. Bloggers, of course, are waaaay ahead of the game. CalPundit, resident expert on the Torn Document, gives us a major revelation - the original version has been found!

thanks to Blah3 for the link.

Footnote: I am looking forward to the day when Vietnam service is not a major issue in a presidential campaign. I don't mean to demean it, and I know that war and its effects are going to be around a long time. It will be a while until the Vietnam generation isn't in political leadership anymore - but as a precursor to how a person will behave as president, service in the military is probably one of the least reliable indicators. Just look at Bob Kerrey. He was an excellent political leader - but then it came out that his service in Vietnam was punctuated by some horrible actions. Sure, John Kerry won medals (as did many thousands just as courageous fighters), but then he threw them away and made a political career out of that - a not-very-noticeable political career at that. Both Reagan and George Bush Sr served in WWII, but their presidencies didn't exactly make history as ones that did most for Americans or the world. Clinton's being at Oxford got him called a "draft dodger" his entire presidency, yet he was a skilled politician when it came to brokering compromises and making new law (not that I agree with the laws he made). And all W's "military service" did was give him an excuse to put on a flight suit and land on an aircraft carrier in one of the most embarrassing displays ever. Anyway, being in the military may show that you've served your country honorably, but there are other ways to serve the country and its citizens that should carry as much weight as military service for indicating potential presidential skill, including teaching, doctoring, and volunteering in various capacities. We're all different, and if our presidents are always held up to the same old measurements, the increasing diversity in our country will never be truly represented by the choices we have for president.

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