From: cdpert01@ulkyvx.louisville.edu
Subject: Re: Clinton blunder
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 13:00:31 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Louisville

In article <27591@life.ai.mit.edu>, elwin@ai.mit.edu (Lee Campbell) writes:
> In article <1992Sep4.184224.18782@cognet.ucla.edu>, tmark@cognet.ucla.edu (Terence Mark) writes:
>> In article <1992Sep4.101956.1@ulkyvx.louisville.edu> cdpert01@ulkyvx.louisville.edu writes:
>> >
>> >   I watched Clinton's speech to the American Legion live on C-SPAN,
>> > and was outraged at the time at what I perceived he was saying (regarding
>> > Lincoln having no military experience).  But, after looking at the 
>> > text of his speech, I can see that he never claimed Lincoln had 
>> > no military experience.  However, this is just another example of
>> > his unprecedented political acumen (i.e. his slickness).  Let me show
>> >      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> [stuff deleted] > 
>> > Lincoln was not called to service, but rather he ENLISTED...TWICE!!
>> > I would say that Bush looks more like Lincoln than does Clinton
>> > in this light.
>> [stuff delted]
>> 
>> >      The main points I wanted to get across here are that:  (1) No,
>> > Clinton did not claim Lincoln had no military experience, but (2) Yes,
>> > the presentation was meant to lead people to believe Lincoln had no
>> > experience.
>> >      It is interesting to see how this event was reported by the NY Times
>> > (Clinton's press secretary?) on August 26.  They made no mention of 
>> > the references to Lincoln, but wrote:
>> > 
>> >      "...he asserted that he could be an effective military Commander
>> >      in Chief, much as two other non-veterans, Woodrow Wilson and 
>> >      Franklin D. Roosevelt, had been."
>> > 
>> > I suppose if Quayle made this same speech, the headline on the NY Times
>> > would read "QUAYLE MISREPRESENTS LINCOLN'S MILITARY RECORD TO GET
>> > AMERICAN LEGION VOTE."
>> > 
>> >     C. Perttunen
>> 
>> Yes, and Democrats who would now argue that this point is irrelevant (along
>> with the draft thing, the pot thing, and the (admittedly alleged) infidelity
>> thing) would descend upon it like a swarm of hungry flies to a pile of
>> steaming elephant dung. Of course this group would include the media.
> 
> 
> Here is an excerpt from the speech in question; it was posted
> to the net a few days ago. It sounds to me like Clinton's
> summary about Lincoln is accurate. Decide for yourselves:
> 
>  ...
> 
>      The other question that arises, of course, is
> perhaps inevitable, not just in this election, but
> in other elections to come, as the post-World War
> II generation comes to leadership. And it is:  Can
> someone who has never served in the military serve
> as Commander in Chief?
> 
>      Lincoln might have thought the question odd.
> He used to joke about his lack of military
> experience, saying the only blood he lost in
> defense of his country was to mosquitoes.  As a
> Congressman, he had been a passionate critic of the
> Mexican War, and the sum total of his military
> experience consisted of a few weeks as a militiaman
> called to service during the Black Hawk War, in
> which he saw no action.  And yet he had the
> judgment and the wisdom and the strength of
> conviction to lead America through its bloodiest
> and most painful conflict.
> 
>      In our own century, the professorial Woodrow
> Wilson -- a Governor who was never in the service -
> - led America and its allies to "make the world
> safe for democracy" in the First World War, and
> another Governor Franklin Roosevelt proved himself
> one of history's greatest wartime commanders,
> though he had never served in the military.
> 
>      In 1980, still another Governor, Ronald
> Reagan, was derided for having spent more time
> filming "Hellcats of the Navy" than actually
> serving in the armed forces during Word War II.
> And yet he never wavered from the use of American
> might when he felt it was right.
> 
>      In President Bush's administration, Secretary
> of Defense Dick Cheney, who had deferments during
> the Vietnam era, has served with genuine
> distinction, especially during the Gulf War.
> 
>      Our history -- and common sense -- tell us
> that competent commanders draw their wisdom from
> the strength of our country -- and our countrymen
> and countrywomen.
> 			...

     If you would have spent the time looking at my original post,
you would have seen that I included this already.  And I gave
a full analysis of it also.

     C. Perttunen
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