NYT: Blumenthal lied about serving in Vietnam.

[cali]

At a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut rose and spoke of an earlier time in his life.

“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”

There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.

The deferments allowed Mr. Blumenthal to complete his studies at Harvard; pursue a graduate fellowship in England; serve as a special assistant to The Washington Post’s publisher, Katharine Graham; and ultimately take a job in the Nixon White House.

In 1970, with his last deferment in jeopardy, he landed a coveted spot in the Marine Reserve, which virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent to Vietnam. He joined a unit in Washington that conducted drills and other exercises and focused on local projects, like fixing a campground and organizing a Toys for Tots drive.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/nyregion/18blumenthal.html?hp

[RandomThoughts]

1. So are they saying the current set of PR systems have many

Vietnam veterans in them, possibly even seeding media and corporate and government systems from soldiers that worked in many areas during Vietnam? And by Vietnam veterans, I wonder if they are talking cold warriors also, and people with strong economic beliefs in capitalism. I would guess many in intelligence community are in positions in many sectors also.


People should be honest I agree, so he should be honest, always the best way.


However most people are good, so if there was any corruption from that type of seeding it would be known. And most veterans deserve good employment, but if they maintain a loyalty to a military structure then that would be a problem, so they would have to be out of those systems.

But that is a different story, and just a guess, not sure how all that works, never having had a government job, but the story sounds odd. How could the guy get press back up for what he said without it bring brought up earlier?

[Lasher]

2. Blumenthal is toast.

Our hopes for the Connecticut Senate are now riding on Warren Mosler, Merrick Alpert or Lee Whitnum.

[customerserviceguy]

3. Agreed

And he should be. This is pretty much equivalent to some Larry the Lounge Lizard going into a bar and telling women he used to be a Navy SEAL.

[KittyWampus]

24. No, it's the equivalent to mis-phrasing something ONCE when you've told the truth every other time.

[customerserviceguy]

34. So, all those other times

I told the ladies in the singles bar that I was a draft-dodger (when I thought they were hippie chicks) makes up for the one time I told them I was an ex-Navy SEAL when I thought they were into macho?

Come on, I hold Democratic office holders to higher standards than the Repukes hold theirs. I wish everyone here did.

[wmbrew0206]

38. Nope

He has been taped and quoted as saying "when we came back from" and "when I was in" several times and never corrected it.

As someone who has been there, if you haven't you NEVER say "when we came back from" or "served in" if you have not been there. You say "when I served during" or "when my fellow ____ came back from".

This guy has said it on more than several occasions. That is not a one time slip of the tongue. It is a trend of implying he served in Vietnam and not bothering to correct it because it benefited him politically.

[Cirque du So-What]

4. Sometimes, I feel a twinge of guilt

while checking the box that gives preference on job applications to Vietnam-era veterans. I worry that it may give me just enough of a boost to displace a qualified vet who actually served in-country. If it ever comes up in conversation, I'm always quick to point out that my service was merely during that period of time and that I hadn't been to Vietnam in any way whatsoever.

IMO anyone who alludes to having served IN Vietnam, without actually having done so - has a serious character flaw that disqualifies them from government office. I'm sure some private employers feel the same way about liars, but I can't do anything about their decisions. In some circles, being a pathological liar is probably a career-enhancing tool, but I'm sure as hell not going to vote for someone who told lies or insinuated about having served in a place where they'd never set foot.

[BonnieJW]

19. My husband served in Thailand during the VN war,

but he never claims to be a Viet Nam vet. He says he served in Southeast Asia during the war.

[asjr]

5. Is anyone surprised this was published

on an election day? An opportune moment?

[cali]

6. I'd think it would have been more damaging if it had been published a week ago

now Blumenthal may well win the primary and lose to someone like Rob Simmons in the general. I just hope if he wins the primary that he drops out. I don't see how you recover from something like this. There are few things, I think, that the voting public finds more of a turn off than someone lying about their military record.

[brendan120678]

7. It's not an election day in CT.

The State conventions are this weekend, but the primaries aren't until later this fall.

[cali]

9. so as a nutmegger, what's your take on this?

specifically, will Blumenthal drop out? Does another dem stand a chance?

[brendan120678]

10. I doubt Blumie will drop out.

Merrick Alpert, the other Democrat in the race, really doesn't even have a chance against any of the Republicans.

It can come out that Blumenthal likes to steal old ladies walkers while they are crossing the street, and I'm pretty sure the people will still vote for him.

I really don't get the huge fascination that people have for him. Yes, he's done some good, but I think lots of what he does is to try to get his name in the national media, which I find to be a little annoying.

[bigwillq]

28. The primary is in August (nt)

[Psephos]

8. self-delete n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Well those same number of deferments worked for Dick Cheney

But then, he's a Republican.

[DefenseLawyer]

13. He took the Dan Qualye route from what I can tell

And got into the reserves as well. Personally, I don't blame anyone who tried to get out of Vietnam. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing. As long as they are honest about it and say "hell no I didn't want to go". It's the chickenhawks that want to send everyone else to die when they wouldn't do it themselves that I have a problem with. That said, I'm not sure what to make of this story. If it's just a matter of saying "in Vietnam" instead of "during Vietnam" in a speech, it's probably forgivable. If it's a pattern or he's telling stories about being in the shit with Charlie, then he's done.

[Love Bug]

15. Not that I would ever defend Cheney but he didn't lie about

serving in Vietnam. Blumenthal did. Repeatedly, it appears.

[KittyWampus]

23. No, Blumenthal did not REPEATEDLY lie.

[Statistical]

30. Per his press conference he now admits to "mispeaking" multiple times n/t

[cali]

16. Blumenthal lied about serving in Vietnam. I think that's the issue. Not so much the deferments.

[Gaedel]

40. Cheney never claimed to be a VN vet nt

[Statistical]

12. What a dirtbag.

You make choices, you live by them.

Is dishonors the sacrifice made by thousands to pretend you served when you didn't.

Only wish he had lied about receiving a medal in Vietnam that would be a felony and I would love to see him in handcuffs.

[TheCowsCameHome]

14. Why do people do stupid thing like this? Why?

Do they really think they'll "slip one by" in this day and age?

Blumenthal had so much going for him.

S-T-U-P-I-D.

[CTyankee]

17. The answer toyour question probably deserves its own thread, but here goes...

remember Joseph Ellis? He is the Pulitzer Prize winning historian, specializing in Revolutionary War American history, and a distinguished professor at Mount Holyoke College, an elite Seven Sisters school in western MA. He wove a fantastical tale to his friends and colleagues about how he served in Vietnam during the war and was in actual combat situations where he performed heroically. The College asked him to devise a course on the Vietnam War which he did, regaling his students with his combate experience.

He was exposed by a real Vietnam Veteran. Not only had he NOT served in Vietnam, he wasn't really a soldier altho I think he did work for the DOD in Washington.

For this transgression, he was suspended from teaching for one year and has since been reinstated.

He also told tall tales about scoring the winning touchdown in his high school Homecoming Game. He was never on the team.

Interestingly, his scholarship in American history has never been questioned. He was obviously extremely careful and precise in his life's work.

I really don't know the answer to your question or to the Joe Ellis situation. My guess -- and it's just a guess -- is that he wanted deeply to have served in Vietnam (without actually risking his life), got carried away with the narrative of the story he made up, was in love with his resume and reputation, and thought he could get away with it...

The bigger they come, the harder they fall...

[DefenseLawyer]

22. There is no evidence this guy "wove a fantastical tale"

of the kind you describe. He was in the reserves during the Vietnam War and thus served during Vietnam but not in Vietnam, as he is quoted as saying on at least one occasion. That's not to say that even blurring that line to imply he was a war veteran isn't wrong, but it's a heck of a lot different than making up stories about being a hero in combat.

[CTyankee]

25. Yes, you are right. My comparison was actually that of extremely successful people

who screw up their perfectly normal lives doing stupid shit.

Dick didn't brag about being a hero...I think he was really embellishing his resume with veterans, who he obviously admires, perhaps with no small amount of personal guilt for seeking deferments. I think of Dick as being a decent person and perhaps guilt just got the better of him. I truly don't think his motives were crass...he wasn't making any money over it. And he HAS a good record with veterans issues as AG. If the veterans organizations feel he would be better than a repub. as their Senator AND he really repents, I think they'll forgive him and move on.

[Dawson Leery]

39. How much I despise the right

and the WWE monkies!

[tonysam]

31. If he had said he had served during the Vietnam War era

or in the reserves during the Vietnam era, he'd have been okay, because it would have been the truth. But he didn't.

He's toast.

[sinkingfeeling]

18. This is one time when I believe it was a 'slip of the tongue'. He clearly has stated over and over

that he was in the Reserves during the Viet Nam war and I honestly believe he meant to say , '...since the days that I served during Vietnam."

[MidwestRick]

20. I was active duty Air Force

during the Gulf War. I was awarded a National Defence Ribbon. The only desert I was near during Storm or Shield was White Sands in NM. Am I a war veteran? Yep.

I was in the Air Force Reserves during Kosovo. My unit was activated and President Clinton wished us well in person before the unit went off to war...in the South of France. Got another National Defence Ribbon for that 2 week tour. Am I a war veteran? Yep.

Can I become a member of the VFW? Nope, but am I a war veteran? Yep.

-MR

[Love Bug]

33. I am a Vietnam ERA veteran and have a National Defense Ribbon, too

But I'm always careful to emphasize the word ERA and would never imply, either by admission or omission that I was anywhere near Vietnam. I sat on my ass in Norfolk VA, in the Comm Center. I don't feel like a war veteran, maybe because I was never in harm's way. I can't compare my service to that of my father, who was in the Battle of the Bulge, or of two of his brothers, who were in the Normandy invasion on D-Day.

Blumenthal tried to make his service sound like more than it was, just like Bush and his TX Air National Guard "service."

[branders seine]

21. What's the big deal? Back when I served in the Civil War,

lots of Yankees lied about being in the Army.

[Winterblues]

26. When Bush* said "I have been to war and I have raised two daughters, and believe me

raising daughters was far worse" where was all the publicity over that? Where was the New York Times back then?

[Forkboy]

27. So do we give Bush a pass on that now?

I know the press sucks (that goes without saying), but we here wanted to hold Bush accountable for stuff like that. Shouldn't we be consistent? Because if we say it's ok for our side to lie, isn't it then ok for their side to lie as well?

I don't know if Blumenthal meant to say what he said, or if he meant to phrase it differently or not. But he did say what he said the way he said it, and it sounds like a flat out lie. I feel bad for the people of CT.

[hughee99]

41. Exactly, I don't see what the big deal is here, it's not like he's a

republican. Besides, * has been to war. As the CiC, he lied us into one.

[howaboutme]

29. +1 Harvard and Ethics or lack thereof?

Seems to be a common denominator in the halls of power today...being Harvard educated and lack needed ethics. Wall St is overflowing with them, and they may have yet sunk the world economy with their greed and self interest because it ain't over.

The primary key to success in America is pedigree and money and Harvard education. We now have a full fledged caste system like it or not. As George Carlin says, they have a club and you ain't in it. They look out for their own. The problem is most Americans can't fathom what it costs, let alone have the connections for admission to Harvard.

Have a daddy rich enough to send you to Harvard, get an MBA or law degree and then jump on the choo choo train to power with wired connections. This is just what we don't need another Harvard educated elitist who has the ethics of a snake.

He is lying through his teeth. In 1970 you needed connections to get into any NG or reserve unit and that's where Harvard comes in. We need more in Congress and government that represent all of America and that graduated from state universities, not just cronies of the elite with their Ivy League background. I don't like ever increasing what is happening to the USA.

Why would this article have built up a cache of un-recommendations. This dude lied about his service and got caught, what's to unrec about that?

[Vickers]

32. I simply cannot imagine a vet *honestly* making a mistake like that. n/t

[TroglodyteScholar]

37. Exactly!

I think his reaction to this story says one thing and one thing only: "I hope my Democratic supporters are as fucking stupid as I think they are."

This was at best an intentional embellishment, and the fact he's not copping to it shows great contempt for our actual combat veterans as well as the very people who put him into office. Shame on him.

[CTyankee]

42. "great contempt"??? Say what you will about his embellishing his record,

but this guy has a VERY impressive track record with vets in the state of CT and he has a number of them willing to step forward and tell about how his office went to bat for them.

You are WAY off base. Please do your homework, and when you are done, come back and we'll talk.

[TroglodyteScholar]

43. Nah...

If you honestly think he said "I served in Viet Nam" on accident, we've got nothing more to discuss.

[CTyankee]

44. So you don't want to look at what he actually DID on behalf of vets?

You'd just rather make a statement about showing contempt without even CONSIDERING what his record is? Actions speak louder than words.

[TroglodyteScholar]

45. That's odd, I don't recall ever saying ANYTHING about what he has or hasn't done for vets.

I thought it was QUITE clear that I was commenting on something else entirely.

[CTyankee]

46. All right, then. Here's your chance!

Has his service as CT AG been helpful to veterans or not? In other words, have his actions spoken on behalf of what he believes? Yes or No?

[FLAprogressive]

35. When is their primary? Hopefully someone else will win it.

[FLAprogressive]

36. Also, what a dirtbag.....