[SamAdams76]

I'm a USMC vet too but I don't quite agree with you that only those who serve in wartime should be elected to high office. That disqualifies a lot of good people (and qualifies many who are undeserving). What if one didn't come of age in wartime? When I served in the Marines, there were no wars going on. Should that disqualify me from high office? I don't think you meant to infer that but I kind of took it that way. What if I was running for president against a Democrat who fought in the Vietnam war. Would you automatically vote for the Democrat because I only served during peacetime?

Anyway, I agree with you that those who use their connections to avoid serving our military during a major war are perhaps unworthy of public office. That's why I'll never vote for them. Bill Clinton certainly did that by getting accepted into the National Guard to avoid the draft and then running off to England to avoid even doing that (as a Rhodes Scholar). Once Clinton got a high draft number, he came back to the U.S.A. Now that is despicable.

Perhaps our current president joined the National Guard to avoid service in Vietnam. I really don't know. But as another poster said, at least he did serve the military. And piloting a jet fighter is no "skate" job.

[USMCVet]

Wow! As always, you get a wild set of interpretations every time you post something - The point that I was trying to make, from my narrow prism as a Baby Boomer that chose to serve his country during the Vietnam War - is that we had two groups of American men during that period of time, those that joined the services and those that found many of the available ways to stay out of it.

It just seems odd that of the available volunteers to lead us, we have this pool of guys who let other guys saddle up and take the chances for their country in their places. And it isn't just the top level leadership: look at all the "best and brightest" we have leading us from the Boomer generation that "had better things to do".

Serving in any capacity that supports our country is good and meritorious service - and as another poster put it, you have a very good chance of dying for your country by flying military aircraft anywhere.

I just have a special place in my heart for the few gutsy members of my generation that sought the tough service and took on the hard burdens - and very little respect for the little people who found artful excuses to leave the scary stuff to other men.

As for serving in the Corps in any capacity, you have my admiration and gratitude...and I hope you DO run for office!