Clinton didn't dodge the draft. He had a draft lottery number.
The issue with Bush is 2 things...
First is his reasons for signing up with the TANG ... which he's stated...
He wanted to avoid going to Vietnam... wasn't willing to perforate his eardrum or go to Canada... (or even protest the war)... which is the same reason Clinton wrote his letters to draft review boards.
The second issue is his entitlement as Bush's son to get to choose the TANG.
As the Crown Prince of the Bush Clan, he got to fly Jets in the Champagne Squad... jumping ahead of a waiting list of 500. And he couldn't even serve his full 6 years.
It's his lack of commitment to that priviledged service that's an issue.
Why oh why does it matter what someone did or didn´t do thirty years ago? Are anyone really gonna say "Well Bush will be slightly better than Kerry to manage our affairs but there was that draft thing eons ago so I am gonna vote Kerry"? If so then you are crazier than that woman who only wanted to know if Liebermann had been married MORE THAN ONCE?
Indeed. What hasn't been mentioned is while we're talking about Clinton lying vs. G.W. Bush lying, the thing I always come back to is that GWB skirted the draft and military service, and Clinton dodged the draft too. So aren't they both up the same river? We can split hairs about why Bush's situation must be worse than Clinton's or vice versa as a matter of post-rationalization, but I think the basic circumstances are the same.
Now, as for people who complain about how irrelevant this fuss over GWB's military record is now, consider that these same people who complain about this were all over Clinton about his military service, and would make the same case about Gore's cushy position in the military.
So it seems to me that this is all a case of people looking for any excuse to find fault in GWB, Clinton or whomever. I doubt anyone really cares whether these men served their country in the military, honorably or not, it's just an excuse to bash.
Pretty good post, but two objections:
1) Like everyone said, Clinton never dodged the draft.
2) It's hard to characterize people as "looking for any excuse to find fault in GWB" when Bush literally parades his past service, lying about it in the process. He has made this an issue, first and foremost. Mostly everyone else is just calling him and his deceitful campaign manager on it.
But let's just consider what Racicot is doing here.
This wasn't a slip of the tongue. This was deliberate. Now that the topic has been moved a bit to the back burner, they're trying to get back on the offensive by floating a deliberate and undeniable deception in the hopes that no one will notice. If no one does then the new false story will become the accepted version in the coming campaign debate.
You really can't let your eyes off them for a second.
Is anyone going to ask the campaign or the White House whethre their new line is that the president volunteered to go to Vietnam but just never got picked?
Comments
The issue with Bush is 2 things...
First is his reasons for signing up with the TANG ... which he's stated...
He wanted to avoid going to Vietnam... wasn't willing to perforate his eardrum or go to Canada... (or even protest the war)... which is the same reason Clinton wrote his letters to draft review boards.
The second issue is his entitlement as Bush's son to get to choose the TANG.
As the Crown Prince of the Bush Clan, he got to fly Jets in the Champagne Squad... jumping ahead of a waiting list of 500. And he couldn't even serve his full 6 years.
It's his lack of commitment to that priviledged service that's an issue.
Originally posted by BuonRotto
...Clinton dodged the draft too.
Clinton was in the draft.
Originally posted by BuonRotto
Indeed. What hasn't been mentioned is while we're talking about Clinton lying vs. G.W. Bush lying, the thing I always come back to is that GWB skirted the draft and military service, and Clinton dodged the draft too. So aren't they both up the same river? We can split hairs about why Bush's situation must be worse than Clinton's or vice versa as a matter of post-rationalization, but I think the basic circumstances are the same.
Now, as for people who complain about how irrelevant this fuss over GWB's military record is now, consider that these same people who complain about this were all over Clinton about his military service, and would make the same case about Gore's cushy position in the military.
So it seems to me that this is all a case of people looking for any excuse to find fault in GWB, Clinton or whomever. I doubt anyone really cares whether these men served their country in the military, honorably or not, it's just an excuse to bash.
Pretty good post, but two objections:
1) Like everyone said, Clinton never dodged the draft.
2) It's hard to characterize people as "looking for any excuse to find fault in GWB" when Bush literally parades his past service, lying about it in the process. He has made this an issue, first and foremost. Mostly everyone else is just calling him and his deceitful campaign manager on it.
EDIT: Josh Marshall gets at the same thing:
But let's just consider what Racicot is doing here.
This wasn't a slip of the tongue. This was deliberate. Now that the topic has been moved a bit to the back burner, they're trying to get back on the offensive by floating a deliberate and undeniable deception in the hopes that no one will notice. If no one does then the new false story will become the accepted version in the coming campaign debate.
You really can't let your eyes off them for a second.
Is anyone going to ask the campaign or the White House whethre their new line is that the president volunteered to go to Vietnam but just never got picked?
Bush BRAGS about his being a fighter jock.