[MarkL]

I'd like to see someone stand up and make one very simple point...

Serving in the military, even with distinction, doesn't make one a good leader in a civilian government, or for that matter, overcome serious moral flaws.

I seem to recall hearing about an interview with the guy who runs a web site exposing people who claim to have won medals that they hadn'd won, who stated that there are some people who were heros in war, but were pretty much bad people in civilian life. He mentioned a soldier who was awarded a number of medals, and later, when he returned to civilian life, was arrested a number of times for petty crimes.

Certainly, some military men did make great political leaders. George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Harry Truman.

Others, made pretty poor political leaders. The best example may be Grant, but then I don't think that any single president has done more to destroy the international intelligence capabilities of the US than Jimmy Carter.

But, the best example of a military man who served this country heroicly during wartime but damaged it after would be Benedict Arnold. If not for him, the US forces would have lost, plain and simple. His efforts plainly saved the fledgling republic. But he later betrayed his country.

Mark

[lavrenti]

Military service at times builds character, creates an environment of leadership. But it is not never a place to truly learn moral judgment or benevolent leadership. That role is learned elsewhere

History is littered with characters who were brave in battle and utter scum in civilian life.