Quote:
Military service has long been seen as an indication of a candidates committment to the nation. Such committment is an important attribute for a President to have, wouldn't you agree?
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I imagine each person to whom that question was put would answer according to their convictions... In that context I can neither agree nor disagree.
For myself, I wouldn't question a "prior military service" candidate's committment to the country more or less than someone who had not served militarily. Personally, I don't add any "weight" to it. There have been great politicians in our history who were not accepted for military service but still found ways to serve their country to the best of their abilities. And there have been Presidents who were veterans and were less than committed IMO.
Quote:
On November 2, 2000, four days before the most disputed election in American history, military veterans in the US Senate lashed out at candidate George W Bush for his failure to explain a six month lapse in his National Guard service. "At the least, I would have been court-martialed. At the least, I would have been placed in prison," Senator Daniel Inouye said.
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If I'm not mistaken, FDR, who served as the Secretary of the Navy, as well as 4 terms as President, was not a Veteran.