It’s So Hard To Follow
By Mitch Berg
Let me see if I’ve got this right this year:
In 1992 and 1996, a record of military service (like George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole had) was absolutely not important…
…but in 2000, it – or the version of it in which being a “military journalist” under the watchful eye of a senior NCO who didn’t let the future Democrat candidate within miles of any known action was bigger and better than being an Air National Guard F-102 pilot. a job with a frighteninly-high “peacetime” casualty rate.
In 2004 it was especially confusing – since having been a Navy “Swift Boat” commander was reputed to give absolute moral authority, while crewmen in those same boats who dissented from their former junior officer’s view of things were said to be blackguards.
It was back to normal in 2008, when a Community Organizer was deemed the real hero, and America’s chattering classes reduced themselves to tittering about the dental state of a man who’d spent years in a POW camp, to say nothing of the circumstances of his getting shot down in the first place.
And this year? Supporters of Obama are trying to paint the community organizer – who was one of about 98% of the adults in his generation who never served in the military – as somehow more noble as the community organizer (for the Mormon Church) who was among the 70-odd percent of people of his generation who got one form of deferment or another – missionary and educational – until he was finished with school, in 1975. Two years after the draft ended.
Which is it?
July 19th, 2012 at 4:10 pm
You conveniently omitted AWOL Dubya, whose only real pilot experience came during dress-up to announce “Mission Accomplished”. But then, as usual, the truth would have ruined your entire premise.
July 19th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
No, Ears. As usual, the truth favors me and piddles on you. Bush was a full-time airman for two years, nearly fulltime for two more, and slacked the last two, largely because his plane was being phased out and the USAF didn’t want to pay to retrain him (and most other F102 pilots).
Truth ALWAYS helps my premise.
But here I am arguing truth with an anonymous sock puppet.
July 19th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
Also to add Mitch, If I remember correctly there were many returning active duty pilots that got preference on flight time in those planes which they needed to maintain their flight status.
July 20th, 2012 at 6:14 am
Shame on you, Earsall. Don’t you know Bush was awarded a Purple Heart for falling off an Alabama bar stool?
July 20th, 2012 at 9:52 am
So the moral of the story:
Conservatives bring fact.
Liberals and clowns bring chanting points.
Push the button, Frank.