Back in 1992, John Kerry was saying he didn't think that the issue of military service during the Viet Nam era was something to be used against a candidate for the Presidency. Whether this sentiment was expressed in defense of the self-admitted draft-dodger Bill Clinton in his race against a man who bravely served his country in the Second World War I don't know. But for Kerry and those who do his dirty work to now change the standard is just the worst sort of hypocrisy. There is no contradicting this. If military service wasn't an issue 12 years ago, why should it be one now?
Retired Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska (a man who lost an arm in that war) said this morning that the President served his country honorably. Any fair-minded person should agree with that. Do those who call the President a shirker have no conscience? Do they have any reckoning of what a dangerous job it is to fly combat aircraft?
The fact (and I think it is one) that GWB was benefited by his connections in getting his placement in the Air National Guard doesn't change any of the other facts of his service. He was honorably discharged after spending years in training and administrative duties. He didn't run a game on his country's military like his predecessor; he stood and delivered.
During the Civil War, young men of means were allowed to pay a substitute several hundred dollars to go and serve in their place. Naturally, those who were poor didn't have that luxury. Can we even conceive of such an outrageously unfair and classist arrangement today? Talk about dodging the draft!
Yet, during the Viet Nam War, the young George W. Bush didn't pull strings or use his connections to avoid the military; he pulled and used them to get into the military. We can be proud of him for that. Let detractors like the rectal thermometer Terry McAuliffe make their comparisons between him and his soon-to-be opponent. Real Americans aren't going to play along.