Rich Miller has a rundown on Mark Kirk’s trail of exaggeration. Writes Mark Brown: “Judging from what his superiors say about him, Kirk has had a very honorable, impressive military career. It’s a shame he didn’t realize that was enough to take him where he wanted.”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:
Obama v. McCain: Didn’t serve over famous POW.
Bush v. Kerry: Guy with mixed record in Air National Guard over war hero.
Bush v. Gore: Ditto over Army journalist in Vietnam.
Clinton v. Dole: Draft dodger over war hero.
Clinton v. Bush: Ditto over ditto.
Correlation isn’t causation, and it’s obviously not a disadvantage in politics to be a combat veteran. But I’m not convinced it’s as big an advantage as people make it out to be, either.