He could not have stayed in the military. His injuries took away the use of his right arm so that staying in the miliary was not an option. There was nothing else he could do in the ‘real’ world so that politics was his only option. Poor option but that was all that was left for him. GOP-e loved him because of his war injuries.
He would have done the country a greater service if he had sold pencils on a street corner. We have such screwed up values when it comes to choosing our leaders.