Posted on 05/25/2012 10:16:29 PM PDT by brityank
When presidents were military men
Article by: John Nagl , Special to the Washington Post | Updated: May 25, 2012 - 11:52 AMIn every presidential election since 1992, the candidate with the less distinguished military resume has triumphed.
Bill Clinton defeated war heroes George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole; National Guard pilot George W. Bush beat Vietnam veterans Al Gore and John Kerry; and Barack Obama was decisively elected over John McCain, who had displayed extraordinary valor during years of captivity as a Navy pilot in North Vietnam.
In 2012, we won't have the chance to test this trend: For the first time in modern American history, neither major candidate for the presidency has any military experience.
This is a dramatic change. The crucible of combat not only created these United States but has also given us many of our most successful presidents.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Wars have given the United States many of its most important political leaders, and we can expect those who have led this country's sons and daughters in the sands of Anbar province and the mountains of the Hindu Kush to turn their sights to the highest office in the land in years to come.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
John Kerry was in the Viiet Nam War? Who knew?
I thought Thurston Heinz served on the Love Boat.
Romney version 2.0, now says that he “longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there.”
I guess the military wasn’t hiring back then.
Brand spankingnew.
That must be a pic of the one day reporter Al Gore spent in the bush.
I think interceptor pilot trumps REMF reporter in the warrior continuum.
Gore must have had influence to land a Journalism slot on an unassigned 2 year enlistment, and to have managed to go to Vietnam only 4+ months before he was discharged.
Getting a slot to anything was impossible when you were getting ready to ETS in a matter of months.
Didn’t Gore have a personal bodyguard?
Why is he touching that gun? Maybe he is just posing for the camera.
Agree about West! I think most of the people running for POTUS now were too young when Vietnam was going on. My hubby is 58 and was in high school during that one. I’m not sure how old Romney is though. Probably should have looked that up before posting a comment. lol
(Disclaimer: I was a REMF).
Teddy Roosevelt led charges, put his life on the line, but then campaigned to get himself a MoH, which he got.
There are, no doubt in my mind, countless numbers who earned one, but never got it, probably because all around them who might have vouched for them, died too. That's life. But don't go campaigning for one for yourself. Nope.
There are probably some who earned mere Bronze Star with a V, who, under different circumstances, would have gotten an MoH. It depends upon who saw what.
Has anybody here ever seen anything to top that? I haven't.
'Nuff said.
"When presidents were
military men"
BOVINE EXCREMENT!!!
That may have been true with regards to Klintoon and George H.W. Bush and Dole, but was NOT true concerning the TRAITOROUS, Rat-Bas-TURD, Snake, John "F'n" Kerry.
Let us not forget that he served all of 4 months in Nam and using an obscure and little known Reg/Provision (that 99.9% of those serving were not aware of) got himself sent home after receiving 3 purple hearts.....
....2 of which were "Self-Inflicted" and at leat one, was denied (actually his CO laughed at the phony, "hero" when he put in for this award) but after the CO was gone, re-applied for it and the medic who treated him, removed a "SLIVER" of shrapnel with "Tweezers" and applied a band aid.
That wound was as a result of this MORON having fired a grenade launcher (though he had been advised not too) close into shore.
Another was when this IJIT, tossed a grenade into a chache of rice with the intent of destroying it and got a few pieces of rice embeded in his back side.
None of his wounds caused him to miss even ONE day of duty.
DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HIS DESPICABLE BEHAVIOR AFTER RETURNING SND ASSUMING THE LEADERSHIP OF THE VIETNAM VETS AGAINST THE WAR.....IN WHICH HE SLIMED, DISPARAGED AND DENIGRATED MILLIONS OF VETS WITH HIS LIES, DECEPTION AND DISGRACEFUL CONDUCT.
George Bush though he may not have served in harms way, risked his life every time he took to the skies flying (at that time one of the most dangerous fighters) his F-102.
Good picture. Forgot Truman though, he was an artillery officer during the first world war.
Why is staring down the working end of a weapon? Idiot.
Hilarious!
Now they return from their familial Indonesian madrasahs and Mexican chicken ranches.
LOL!
I am not so sure Al Gore in this picture really exemplifies fire arms safety.
McCain lost that election because he turned people off with his grimace, lack of real warmth, and lack of personality, along with his FENCE STRADDLING. Only reason I voted for him is I knew 0 was worse and of course SARAH PALIN.
Other wise I would have sat home. My vote was wasted on McCain.
I don’t want RINO ROMNEY EITHER!
I’m not sure how old Romney is though.
____________________________________________
Hes 65
Willard Romney dodged the draft during Vietnam twice...
Many draft dodgers wernt to Canada...
Wee Willie Mitty ran all the way to Paris France for 2 1/2 years to sit out the war, living in a mansion and driving a Citroen...
Barry is bad enough...
Imagine having Bill Clinton redux for the CinC...
Willard’s family came to the US about the 1830s...
In the SEVEN generations since not one Romney has ever served in the US military...
Thats highly unusual for an American family...
Obamas grandfather Stanley Dunham served during WWII...
None of Willards forebears did...
Not the Indian Wars
the Civil War
The Spanish American War
WWI
WWII
Vietnam
Grenada
Iraq
Afghanistan
None of those FIVE boys of his have ever been in the service at any level...
He claims they served our country by working in his campaign...
During 2008 he equated being a campaign worker for him to the men and women fighting and dying in Iraq...
Talk about out of touch and sick mocking...
As a US veteran, I do not look forward to the prospect of a CinC Wee Willie Mitty....
Let’s see, Mitt likened (doubtless with hyperbole) being a campaign worker with being a hero in a larger venue?
I think the latter heroes COULD take that as a kind of compliment. Which is why I’ve never understood why, say, Marines have proudly told stories of assaulting citizens who’ve bought Marine stuff in some surplus store and were wearing it without the “full appreciation.” It’s a compliment, for gosh darn sakes. Why can’t you accept it.
He also doesnt have Grant..
theres photos of him in his uniform...
or Jackson...
or “Tippecanoe” Harrison...
and how can George Washington be left off...
I have to add that McCain lost because he ran a campaign like a Senator, not an A-4 jock.
OTOH, those created by combat for ancient Rome became dictators.
“That must be a pic of the one day reporter Al Gore spent in the bush.”
Nope.ost certainly a posed shot taken to “prove” his credentials for his later political campaigns.....
question????? Where his buddies? I believe that Al only spent a very few months in Vietnam before Senator “Daddy” Gore had him pulled out and re-assigned back to the states...
With THAT weak of a record, one would think Willard would be thinking along the lines of Col. West.
Obama WILL tout his grandfather who served in WWII. He does it all the time. Obama and Michelle have also been very involved in promoting measures to support the troops, in terms of the GI bill, better benefits, etc.
Not that the troops don’t see right through him.
“Which is why I’ve never understood why, say, Marines have proudly told stories of assaulting citizens who’ve bought Marine stuff in some surplus store and were wearing it without the “full appreciation.”
It’s called “stolen valor” and is against the law.
I, a former Marine” met a man outside of a government office who claimed to have been a “Second Lt” in the Navy flying “fighters” and “dropping bombs” in support of Marines in Vietnam to any and all who would listen.
After listening to this jerk brag about his service to others in line I finally told him what for. “There are no Second Lts in the Navy” He told me I was full of it and that his son was a “Second Lt” in the Navy too, also flying a “fighter” on bombing missions for the Marines.” He then offered to kick my butt for daring to dispute him......lolololol.....
The famous combat photo of Gore? What did he have in the pack, a typewriter, mimeograph machine and a note pad? At least he removed the magazine from the M-16 before he had the barrel pointed at his head. I would ass-u-me, he did.
I never knew that about Mittens family, yet another reason why is more Progressive than Conservative.
Now with that said, Military experience should NOT a prerequisite for the Presidency, Calvin Coolidge, Warren Harding, John Adams, even Sarah Palin never served in the Military.
Now this subject is important today because Barry has unique hatred for the Military he is in charge of(Exhibit A: His Friendship with Billy Ayers.)
Obama WILL tout his grandfather who served in WWII. He does it all the time.
______________________________________
and we cant fault him for that... the guy actually served and well...
Whether its for political gain or pride in his Grandpa, Obama does have the right to mention Mr Dunham...
and it would odd if he didnt mention him...
and he has a few further back in the generations..
I’m proud of my ancestors who served too...
Both my Granddads were in the service...
and further back...
However Obama wasnt ever drafted...
There was no draft when he was old enough...
But Willard Romney was of age during the draft...
and he got at least TWO deferments...
With his Dad the Gov of Michigan, he could have pulled strings and got him assigned stateside...
at least he would have served...
But NOOOOOOOOO
Not Wee Willie Mitty, groomed by his ambitious Dad to be a future POTUS...
Not one Romney has ever served our country...in war..or in peacetime...
Thats a severe record of anti-American sentiments...
I went in the USAF shortly after I arrived here...
I wore my uniform the day I became an American citizen...
I was so proud to be in America...
The old country...
the land of my fathers...
I just wanted to do something for my new/old country...
Plus I had a sister who adored JFK..
:)
That is awesome!
If you don't mind me asking, when did you become an American Citizen and where are you originally from?
My Dad is from Germany and my Mother is From the U.K. they arrived in the Untied States in 1970. (I was born here after they both achieved citizenship)
Very good points. It might be THE THING that the media uses to bring Romney down. After all, they have an axe to grind for what was done to John Kerry, no?
Romney best not rely on a Rubio, or a Ryan. Could leave open exposing a VERY weak spot.
No but Sarah’s son served in Iraq...
I became an American citizen in 1975...
I was born in New Zealand...
As a teenager my 2nd great grandfather went from Canada to California and Australia for the gold rush in the early 1850s...
and from there to New Zealand...
His grandparents and great grandparents were Loyalists from New Rochelle, NY...
We always knew we were from the US...
We had his Bible with his history...
You are eligible to be president !!!
:)
Hell, YOUR eligible to be president, your family bible has more background than all of Ubama's "History"!
Lols, You and My Mother were both born as Her Majesty's subjects (something else you share with ubama! J.K......or am I?)
So your G.G.G. Fathers people fled from the U.S. to Canada, back to the U.S., Australia, then New Zealand? Never left the English speaking world.
What made you want to come to America? I guess your family hailed from there.
You were in the service the same time as my Dad! Maybe you all met sometime!? Though I don't know how often the A.F. works with the Marine Corp.
I was also born a British subject but registered on a New Zealand birth certificate a month later when the citizenship changed in January 1949...
I often wonder why my BC is one whole month after I was born but we lived in a tiny town and Mom might have had to wait until the new forms arrived...
I had a New Zealand passport that I applied for the day I turned 21 but I could have gotten a British one too...
I guess thats dual citizenship !!!
BTW I was born with the same citizenship as Obama’s father...
Does that mean I can be POTUS ???
Intent counts and I realize some people really don't know what they're doing. If somebody’s desire is to honor servicemembers by wearing something military, some veteran needs to politely but firmly explain the problem to them. As conservatives, let's admit that honest ignorance exists, and it's getting worse because large numbers of people have never met someone currently in the service, they don't have any family members or friends who have served in the past, and the result is some people do things who really don't know any better.
The problem is not people wearing a Marine T-shirt or putting an Army bumper sticker on their car. The problem is that, as Forty-Niner pointed out, some people are claiming something they have not earned. We don't tolerate people claiming college degrees they have not earned or putting jobs on their resume where they have not worked. What other “training” or “job” has the requirement to write a blank check to the United States for any amount up to and including your life?
Occasionally I run into people who don't realize that Army Public Affairs today is mostly civilians, so I go **WAY** out of my way to correct misunderstandings in the rare cases when I learn that someone thinks because I spent time working in Army Public Affairs after 9/11, I wore the uniform. I'm not entitled to the respect our veterans have earned for their service, and as a non-veteran, I'm not happy when I see others claiming things they have not earned.
It was my 2 gg who went to New Zealand...
His mother was born in the US...Vermont..
Both sides of my gggg and ggggg were Loyalists and fled to Canada..
His grandparents and great grandparents both sides...
One family from New Rochelle NY by way of the Susquehanna River Valley (”Up the River”) in PA...Wyoming Co
The other from Albany NY and the Mohawk River...Herkimer Co
His grandparents met and married in Montreal in 1784 after the War...the families were refugees at Sorel amd Machiche..
His 5 husky sons no doubt feel the same about Iraq/Afghanistan.
Well, they left Britain for Utah which was barely part of the US at the time, and then left the US for Mexico during the polygamy dispute, so they weren't really around for some of those wars. Age also had something to do with it. Romney's grandfathers were too old for WWI, to say nothing of WWII. George Romney did play a key role in production during WWII.
Cousin George Ottinger Romney gave up a Rhodes Scholarship to serve in WWI. In WWII he was Chief of Recreation and Club Unit Services to the United States Armed Forces through the Red Cross. Cousin Vernon B. Romney served in the artillery in the Pacific. Vernon's brother Ralph who died in 2010 was in the Navy.
Willard’s line is clearly anti-American, and against serving America.
Which is largely what you expressed in your post, Mexico was part of the Romney tradition of anti-Americanism, and his line could have enlisted at any time during the family history including in Utah, but they have a dedicated rule of not doing so evidently.
The Romney’s arrived here to serve Joseph Smith, and have done so ever since, without interruption.
A handful of devotees here at FR serve the Romneys.
One or more of Romney's sons should have gone into the military, if only as a military lawyer as Biden's son did. It would have handily defused this issue.
I'd caution you against holding what Romney's ancestors may have done against the man himself. One presidential candidate did come from a strongly pacifist religious sect that rejected war and had traditions of draft resistance.
That candidate's name was Dwight David Eisenhower.
Does a Marine shirt or Army bumper sticker claim membership in same any more than a Coca Cola shirt claim that you work for the Coca Cola company? I would wear a Coca Cola shirt to say I think Coca Cola is a great product.
I think some vets are taking the bullying tone (as necessary as it may prove) of their basic training, a bit TOO seriously.
Joseph Smith (figuratively) could wish he got more attention from Mitt Romney. If he did, Mitt would never have gotten himself embroiled in gay marriage, and probably not in Romneycare either.
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