Today's pop quiz: Which two GOP presidential candidates have served in the military?
Here's one of them, ripping one of the candidates who didn't serve:
Air Force veteran and presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul. R-Texas, has opened up a new line of attack against former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.
Interviewed by Megyn Kelly on Fox News Channel, Paul was responding to the negative ads he's running against Gingrich when he added, “you know, there was one other issue that I personally found annoying is that he's probably as aggressive with the military as anybody. He supports all the wars in the Middle East a thousand times more than I would. But, you know when, in the 1960?s when I was drafted in the military, you know, he got several deferments. He chose not to go. Now. He'll send our kids to war. But, at that time, he said, one person wouldn't make a difference, he didn't know how he could make a difference. So I see that as important information, people should know that, and It reflects on him.”
Gingrich sought and received deferments because of his marriage and student status.
Kinda funny. The candidate who is probably the least inclined to use our military is the veteran, and a candidate very quick to support military intervention is the non-server. Gingrich is one of those Vietnam avoiders who now get all boo-hooey over their decisions.
In 1985, Gingrich told the Washington Post that “Given everything I believe in, a large part of me thinks I should have gone over.”
Well, you didn't, so just shut up about it, OK? Be a man.
Paul was a flight surgeon in the Air Force from 1963 to 1965 and served in in Air National Guard for three years after that. The other veteran is Rick Perry, who also served in the Air Force, for five years beginning in 1972, discharged with the rank of captain.
Neither Perry nor Paul is likely to get the GOP nomination, so no matter which party wins the election, we're probably not going to have a veteran in the White House. Thirty-one of our 43 presidents have served, and I wish we had a few more in the field this time around. Serving in the armed forces gives you experience and judgment you can get no other way, and the president is commander in chief, after all. It's always preferaqble to have a CEO who actually knows what the company's business is all about.
