Posted on 12/05/2002 2:04:54 PM PST by Arthur Wildfire! March
My ears might have deceived me. Did I hear correctly on the Sean Hannity Show? Did Hackworth call Cheney a draft dodger?
According to your putative logic, if a neurosurgeon hasn't had his brain operated on, he's not qualified to operate on anyone else's brain or even prescribe brain surgery as appropriate treatment.
Not volunteering for service is NOT the equivelant to draft dodging...surely you must know that.
And for your information, military service is not required for expressing an opinion on the use of militatry force in this country. The military is subservient to the elected civilian leadership of the country. Americans are born fully vested with the rights God gave them and are not required to serve in the military to exercise those rights.
" Americans are born fully vested with the rights God gave them and are not required to serve in the military to exercise those rights. "
Being the VP of our nation after 9-11 is a calling few could handle...including Hackworth, imho. He doesn't know the detailed threats, the real threats - not the possible or imagined, that the President and the top Cabinet heads hear about regularly. Most of the civilized world is grateful to have a stable, courgeous and wise leader in the #2 spot right now. The Col. crossed the line.
For the record, many of our bravest leaders - who loved their countries and served in other important ways never served in the military - or only served a few months, including Abraham Lincoln, John and John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, FDR, of course...and many others. Some of our best soldiers made bad civilian leaders, and some soldiers never understood the nation they served.
Our CIC, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Conde Rice all have immense respect for our military and an understanding of the sacrifices they make and the importance of the job they do because all of them love this country, have worked hard and proven themselves beyond all petty jealousies and vanity over the past two years.
Vice President Richard B. Cheney
Mr. Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on January 30, 1941 and grew up in Casper, Wyoming. He earned his bachelor's and master's of arts degrees from the University of Wyoming. His career in public service began in 1969 when he joined the Nixon Administration, serving in a number of positions at the Cost of Living Council, at the Office of Economic Opportunity, and within the White House.
When Gerald Ford assumed the Presidency in August 1974, Mr. Cheney served on the transition team and later as Deputy Assistant to the President. In November 1975, he was named Assistant to the President and White House Chief of Staff, a position he held throughout the remainder of the Ford Administration.
After he returned to his home state of Wyoming in 1977, Mr. Cheney was elected to serve as the state's sole Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was re-elected five times and elected by his colleagues to serve as Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee from 1981 to 1987. He was elected Chairman of the House Republican Conference in 1987 and elected House Minority Whip in 1988. During his tenure in the House, Mr. Cheney earned a reputation as a man of knowledge, character, and accessibility.
Mr. Cheney also served a crucial role when America needed him most. As Secretary of Defense from March 1989 to January 1993, Mr. Cheney directed two of the largest military campaigns in recent history - Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East. He was responsible for shaping the future of the U.S. military in an age of profound and rapid change as the Cold War ended. For his leadership in the Gulf War, Secretary Cheney was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George Bush on July 3, 1991.
Mr. Cheney married his high school sweetheart, Lynne Ann Vincent, in 1964, and they have grown daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, and three granddaughters.
Hack what are you doing? My gosh, don't attack the VP like this, even if it is true don't attack him on it.
Thus far the only post here with anything substantial on the subject is #16.
If that's accurate then Hackworth is technically correct, but it's a huge political mistake to put it like "draft dodger" as I am reading here.
I like Hackworth, but I really think this comment was a mistake regardless of it's accuracy.
It's certainly untimely and will lead to allot of scorn being heaped on Mr. Hackworth.
Those who think serving in the military is a disqualifier for high office should remember that Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Hancock, and many other prominent founders did not serve in the military during the Revolutionary War. They served, instead, in the Continental Congress, and it was from them that George Washington took his commission and orders. Later, George Washington and the other men who created the Constitution made a civilian, the President of the United States, commander in chief of the armed forces.
Hackworth has always seemed to me to be the antithesis of the example set by many great military figures in our history who went on to serve in the legislative or executive branches. Hackworth impresses me as a gadfly who runs around pretending to know more than he actually does about the affairs of the day, while trading on his reputation as a decorated veteran.
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