Eugene Robinson, of The Washington Post, has it right.
I was going to be cutesy and write about poor Attorney General Richard Blumenthal being "Swift-Boated", but in fact he was just stupid. Even those of us who actually went to Viet-nam are careful to recognize that there are degrees of involvement. One hundred missions over North Viet-nam in 1966 was not the same as 13 months on the ground in the mud and heat and humidity, patrolling for the Viet Cong. Even with two tours, flying was not as tough as walking.
Mr Blumenthal did not see the importance of honoring those who gave some, or all, for that lost cause.
Regards — Cliff
PS: And if you blog for Dick Howe you should consider mounting a raucous campaign to get The Washington Post once more delivered in Lowell on Sundays.
4 comments:
Cliff, I'm glad you blogged on this. I caught wind of this story this morning and brought it up with two of my course instructors who are Vietnam vets, both "ground-pounders" and one of whom was wounded.
You're right there are degrees of involvement, and I certainly can't compare what I did in Iraq to someone who walked the beat on Haifa Street for an extended deployment during the Bad Old Days from 2004-06.
I also can't prevent someone else from making an honest mistake and saying I was something that I wasn't.
However, there's no excuse for LYING. When Blumenthal talks about what he learned "during service in Vietnam" or makes references to how "we were treated when we returned from Vietnam" there simply isn't any gray area.
The *misunderstanding* line just doesn't hold water. Especially for a brilliant legal mind with a fancy-pants education who gets paid big $$ to understand nuance and detail.
An addendum to my last comment -- it's a real shame Blumenthal felt the need to lie, because there's nothing shameful about his real biography (five deferments and then enlistment in USMC Reserve).
From what I hear, Parris Island is not exactly vacation-land.
And if he hadn't served in the military at all, that wouldn't be shameful either.
Howard Dean had a medical deferment for a bad back and then went mogul skiing in the Rockies...when he ran for President in 2004, it just wasn't that big of a deal.
There are MANY honorable ways to serve your country that have nothing to do with wearing a uniform or carrying a weapon.
People can be remarkably open-minded and tolerant about another person's background and biography.
But it's pretty damn near universal that they won't tolerate being lied to. All Blumenthal can do at this point is apologize and ask people to forgive him...more obfuscation is not the answer.
I especially like the last sentence in The New Englander's first comment, but agreed with what he has said.
On the other hand, there is this from Neal Cavouto, over at Fox News. I am not sure I agree with Mr Cavouto, but it is a reasoned position. And, it shows a certain flexibility at Fox, a flexibility not often attributed to that network.
Regards — Cliff
How close he came to simply telling the truth. He coulda...shoulda....said something along the lines of stuff he learned "during the VN conflict." Nothing wrong with that...and in fact....was and is probably quite true....but by suggesting by ommision that he was IN VietNam and thus...."fought the war"...was as unnecessary as it is unfortunate.
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