This from yesterday's New York Sun:
… Senator [Tom] Harkin of Iowa . . . suggested in May that Mr. McCain's military service and his family ties to the military gave him a "pretty dangerous" outlook that made him less suitable as president. "I think one of, one of the problems John McCain has, is that his grandfather was an admiral, his father was an admiral. He comes from a long line of just military people, so I think his whole worldview, his life view has been shaped from a military viewpoint, and he has a hard time thinking beyond that," he said, according to Radio Iowa.And this from an Aug. 18, 2004 Wall Street Journal editorial:
... On Monday the Iowa Senator lashed out at Dick Cheney, claiming the Vice President had no right to criticize Mr. Kerry's policies for the war on terror because Mr. Cheney had a deferment back then: "When I hear this coming from Dick Cheney, who was a coward, who would not serve during the Vietnam War, it makes my blood boil."If you don’t have Tom Harkin's name on your “No Shame” list, it’s incomplete.
"Coward"? Such a comment would take chutzpah coming from anyone. But Senator Harkin is a proven fabricator when it comes to his own Vietnam-era record, as shown during his own failed 1992 Presidential bid. (emphasis added)
Consider this excerpt from a Wall Street Journal news story by James M. Perry from December 26, 1991:
"In 1979, Mr. Harkin, then a congressman, participated in a round-table discussion arranged by the Congressional Vietnam Veterans' Caucus. 'I spent five years as a Navy pilot, starting in November of 1962,' Mr. Harkin said at that meeting, in words that were later quoted in a book, Changing of the Guard, by Washington Post political writer David Broder. 'One year was in Vietnam. I was flying F-4s and F-8s on combat air patrols and photo-reconnaissance support missions. I did no bombing.'
"That clearly is not an accurate picture of his Navy service. . . . Mr. Harkin's Navy record shows his only decoration is the National Defense Service Medal, awarded to everyone on active service during those years. He did not receive the Vietnam Service medal or the Vietnam Campaign medal, the decorations given to everyone who served in the Southeast Asia theater."
It turned out Mr. Harkin had not seen combat and was stationed in Japan.
The Sun's story’s here; the WSJ editorial’s here.
2 comments:
John -
So let me understand this. According to Senator Harkin, since Sen. McCain has "seen military service and [has] family ties to the military [that gives] him a "pretty dangerous" outlook and [makes] him less suitable as president." But "when [he] hears [criticism of Sen. Kerry] coming from Dick Cheney, who was a coward, who would not serve during the Vietnam War, it makes [his] blood boil." So being in the military is a negative if you are a Republican and not being in the military is a negative if you are not a Republican. I would hardly use the appellation "No shame" for Sen. Harkin; I would think, "incoherent" or "addled-brained" is the better term.
Jack in Silver Spring
PS That's the Sen. Kerry who was in Cambodia on Christmas of December 1968 under Pres. Nixon's orders - gee whiz, I thought Presidents were sworn into office on January 20th. When did they change the date on me?
Off Topic:
Keeping Watch:
MNI 5.85
McClatchy shares tumbled as Deutsche lowered
McClatchy's rating to “sell''- from -``hold''
The stock touched a 52-week low earlier in the session at $5.85,
eclipsing the prior mark of $6.67.
McClatchy’s Star-Telegram’s workplace is compared to a funeral.
The company said it does not comment on analyst notes or stock activity.
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I’ll bet they don’t want to comment on stock activity! At this level, even a penny drop is bad news. I think ‘Penny’ stocks are common stocks that trade for less than $5. McClatchy a penny stock, cry me a river.
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