Hawks, Chickenhawks, & Doves

[theknife]

this kind of an odd list, considering the Dems are steotyped as doves and the GOP are the hawks:

Democrats:
a.. Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
b.. David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
c.. Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
d.. Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
e. Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.
f. Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-'47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
g. John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat 3 Purple Hearts.
h. John Edwards: did not serve.
i.. Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
j. Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star,
Vietnam.
k. Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-1953.
l. Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
m. Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve,
1979-91.
n.. Fritz Hollings: Army officer in W.W.II, receiving the Bronze
Star
seven campaign ribbons.
o. Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCS, Bronze
Stars, & Soldier's Medal.
p. Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver
Star &
Legion of Merit.
q. Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
r. Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine inVietnam;
Bronze
Star with Combat V.
s. Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
t. Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
u. Chuck Robb: Vietnam
v. Howell Heflin: Silver Star
w. George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
x. Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments. Entered draft
but
received 311.
y. Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
z. Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
aa. John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCS & Air Medal with 18
Clusters.
ab. Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by
Raoul Wallenberg.
ac. Wesley Clark: U.S. Army, 1966-2000, West Point, Vietnam,
Purple
Heart, Silver Star. Retired 4-star General.
ad. John Dingell: W.W.II vet
ae. John Conyers: Army 1950-57, Korea

Republicans
a.. Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
b. Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
c. Tom Delay: did not serve.
d. House Whip Roy Blunt: did not serve.
e. Bill Frist: did not serve.
f. Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
g. George Pataki: did not serve.
h. Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
i. Rick Santorum: did not serve.
j. Trent Lott: did not serve.
k. Dick Cheney: did not serve: Several deferments, the last by
marriage.
l. John Ashcroft: did not serve: Seven deferments to teach
business.
m. Jeb Bush: did not serve.
n. Karl Rove: did not serve.
o. Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." The man who
attacked
Max Cleland's patriotism.
p. Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
q. Vin Weber: did not serve.
r. Richard Perle: did not serve.
s. Douglas Feith: did not serve.
t. Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
u. Richard Shelby: did not serve.
v. Jon Kyl: did not serve.
w.Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
x. Christopher Cox: did not serve.
y. Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
z. Clarence Thomas: did not serve
aa. Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as aviator & flight
instructor.
ab. George W. Bush: six-year Nat'l Guard commitment (in four).
ac. Ronald Reagan: due to poor eyesight, served in a non-combat
role
making movies.
ad. Gerald Ford: Navy, W.W.II
ae. Phil Gramm: did not serve.
af. John McCain: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit,
Purple
Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
ag. Bob Dole: an honorable veteran.
ah. Chuck Hagel: two Purple Hearts & a Bronze Star, Vietnam.
ai. Duke Cunningham: nominated for Medal of Honor, Navy Cross,
Silver
Stars, Air Medals, Purple Hearts.
aj. Jeff Sessions: Army Reserves, 1973-1986
ak. JC Watts: did not serve.
al. Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
am. G.H.W. Bush: Pilot in WWII. Shot down by the Japanese.
an. Tom Ridge: Bronze Star for Valor in Vietnam.

Pundits & Preachers
a. Sean Hannity: did not serve.
b. Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F with a 'pilonidal cyst.')
c. Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
d. Michael Savage: did not serve.
e. George Will: did not serve.
f. Chris Matthews: did not serve.
g. Paul Gigot: did not serve.
h. Bill Bennett: did not serve.
i. Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
j. Bill Kristol: did not serve.
k. Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
l. Michael Medved: did not serve.

so who's better qualified to send someone else's kid off to fight?

[multi]

from here it seems like you need some sort of service history to be a democrat..
Edwards looks like the only dove amongst them..

Powell is a pretty glaring omission from the GOP side..?

[theknife]

Originally Posted by multi

Powell is a pretty glaring omission from the GOP side..?

no question this list is gonna be selective (it's not mine btw - i clipped it off a leftie blog somewhere), designed to highlight the Dem's service and the GOP's lack thereof...but Powell is the only major GOP member I can think of that's missing (and there are many who would question Powell's GOP comittment). i don't see Joe Leiberman or Joe Biden on the Dem list either.

here's another variation on this list , albeit also from a Leftie source.

nevertheless, most of the stars of each party are there and the contrast of service records is striking....overwhelmingly, the biggest hawks in government have never actually seen military service. service in the military oughta be a prerequisite to having the power to send anyone else into harm's way.

[Mazer]

Originally Posted by theknife

service in the military oughta be a prerequisite to having the power to send anyone else into harm's way.

Though I strongly agree with this sentiment, you have to understand why such a requisite was never put into the constitution. The simple fact that a civilian has just as much potential as an ex-military person to become the President ensures that the military will never have a stranglehold on the office. A civilian as commander in chief, no matter how inept he may be, is still the best defense against the chances of a nation to be enslaved under martial law. Presidents should definitly have military experience, but that must never be a constitutional requirment.

[multi]

is it that it's also a bit doubtful if powell will make it into the next administration if bush wins ?

there is almost a Tao pattern there in these lists

Arnold Schwarzenegger, CA Republican Governor - went AWOL from his Austrian army base to enter a bodybuilding competition

:]

[theknife]

Originally Posted by Mazer

Though I strongly agree with this sentiment, you have to understand why such a requisite was never put into the constitution. The simple fact that a civilian has just as much potential as an ex-military person to become the President ensures that the military will never have a stranglehold on the office. A civilian as commander in chief, no matter how inept he may be, is still the best defense against the chances of a nation to be enslaved under martial law. Presidents should definitly have military experience, but that must never be a constitutional requirment.

okay, let me rephrase my thought: getting shot at oughta be a prerequisite to having the power to send someone else off to be shot at

[theknife]

Originally Posted by multi

is it that it's also a bit doubtful if powell will make it into the next administration if bush wins ?

there is almost a Tao pattern there in these lists


:]

conventional wisdom is that Powell is toast in a second GWB administration - by mutual agreement. i've got repect for him - he always seemed to me to be a stand-up guy and at times, he seems like the only sane one in the Administration. i think he's ever the good soldier and went out and did his job the best he could, but i'd bet he'd like to forget the big here's-why-we-gotta-invade-Iraq speech he gave to the UN in early 2003 - they sent him out there with bad intel and he lost a lot of credibility because of it.

but what a book he could write, eh?