Have you guys checked the wikipedia page on Duke Cunningham?

[Catherine Vincent]

It is some very interesting reading about this guy before he was found out. Here are a few snippets:

--Challenging the patriotism of then-Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992 (along with fellow San Diego Republican Duncan Hunter) before a near-empty House chamber

--Making an inappropriate comment about Representative Barney Frank, where he equated a medical procedure to screen for prostate cancer with Frank's sexual orientation <2>.

--Flipping off a constituent and "for emphasis, shouted the two-word meaning of his one-finger salute." <3>

--Suggesting that the Democratic House leadership should be "lined up and shot"—a call he'd previously made about Vietnam War protesters. <4>

--Getting in a shoving match with Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) over sending troops to Bosnia. After Cunningham fled, Moran found him crying in the cloakroom. <5>

This one is really interesting:
--In September 1996 Cunningham attacked President Clinton for appointing "soft on crime" judges. "We must get tough on drug dealers," he said. "Those who peddle destruction on our children must pay dearly." He favored stiff drug penalties and voted for the death penalty for major drug dealers. Four months later, his son Todd was arrested for helping to transport 400 pounds (181 kg) of marijuana from Massachusetts to California. At his son's sentencing hearing, Cunningham fought back tears as he begged the judge for leniency (Todd was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, in part because he tested positive for cocaine three times while on bail). Cunningham's press secretary responded to accusations of double standards with: "The sentence Todd got had nothing to do with who Duke is. Duke has always been tough on drugs and remains tough on drugs."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_(Duke)_Cunningham

[spindrifter]

1. Not long ago

I came upon some sort of apologia for the Dukester. There was an article that seemed to half-heartedly try to excuse his behavior because he had been a pilot in the military, and everyone knows that pilots are arrogant SOB's, but then it diverted from the enabling and got into how he had engaged in a lot of troubling, inappropriate and impolitic behavior. Perhaps a brain f*rt.

[EST]

2. How a man could get to his age, and this applies to

many, both in and out of government, without developing a little empathy is beyond my appreciation.

[niyad]

3. he's a jerk, a liar, and totally incompetent, and a complete hypocrite,

[Cha]

4. Fuck you, randy..who's

laughing best?

[MichiganVote]

5. Check out the one on Lee Atwater sometime

[peacetalksforall]

6. Why ws he crying in the cloakroom? Did he feel sorry for the people

of Bosnia?

[Starbucks Anarchist]

7. No, he was surprised Jim Moran fought back.

Bullies always run away when you confront them.

[Catherine Vincent]

9. Probably because he behaved like an idiot before.

[northzax]

8. Duke Cunningham seems the perfect embodiment of the Peter Principle

He rose to a certain level of glory, and there is no doubt that he was a fantastically skilled pilot, if lacking in judgement at times (frankly, you have to be a little insane to be a fighter pilot, don't you think?) and because of that, for the rest of his career, he got away with being mediocre at everything else in his life. That entitlement just kept building, he was above the law, because everyone had always covered for him, and pushed him upwards, until finally he found someone who wouldn't cover for him. And the whole house of cards came tumblin' down.

[Ready4Change]

10. I'm torn over Cunningham.

On the one hand, he has sure screwed the pooch in this whole affair. It seems he's become as corrupt as a many Americans fear those in government can be.

The reason I'm torn is because of his role regarding the training of Naval fighter pilots in the late 60's and early 70's.

Basically, the doctrine of the times was that air to air missiles had made dogfighting obsolete, and that training pilots to dogfight was not only a waste of money, but also an inexusable risk of life.

Enter Vietnam, and the pilots we had "trained" found their missiles failed more often than not, and when they did fail our big, lumbering, missile carrying jets became stuck in dogfights with smaller, nimbler Migs. Without training, our pilots were left practically defensless.

(Fast forward to todays Iraq for simularities. Rumsfeld had supreme confidence in technology over numbers, and was wrong. It has left our soldiers stuck in a quagmire, and at first they were woefully undersupplied, including lacking essentials such as armor.)

Cunningham was one of the Naval officers who drove home the need for renewed dogfighting training. They developed techniques that allowed the lumbering, but faster, F-4's the Navy was using to control the fights, so as to use its advantages and deny the nimble Migs their own.

And he is no chicken-hawk. He fought in the skies over Vietnam, became an ace, and got out alive. His efforts probably saved many of our pilots lives in that war, and it's also quite likely he saved the skin of a dear acquantaince of mine (now departed) on one mission or another.

It is very sad to see him having fallen so low. While I may well celebrate with confetti and party horns the snaring of many other Republicans to come, I've got to give a moment of silence for the man Cunningham once was.

...

Ok, I've pretty much asked for it. Flame away.

[EST]

11. No flames.

There but for the grace...

[txindy]

12. No, no flames from me. I understand where you're coming from.

Cunningham's shame isn't only in being corrupt while in a trusted elected position, it's in betraying the brave man he once was and letting courage and strength bleed away to criminality and fear.

I thought you said it exceptionally well.