Cheney's 5 Draft Deferments Become an Issue - Finally!

[PSU84]

Cheney's Five Draft Deferments During the Vietnam Era Emerge as a Campaign Issue

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

The New York Times May 1, 2004

WASHINGTON, April 30 — It was 1959 when Dick Cheney, then a student at Yale University, turned 18 and became eligible for the draft. Eventually, like 16 million other young men of that era, Mr. Cheney sought deferments. By the time he turned 26 in January 1967 and was no longer eligible for the draft, he had asked for and received five deferments, four because he was a student and one for being a new father.

Although President Richard M. Nixon stopped the draft in 1973 and the war itself ended 29 years ago on Friday, the issue of service remains a personally sensitive and politically potent touchstone in the biographies of many politicians from that era. For much of Mr. Cheney's political career, his deferments have largely been a nonissue.

In an increasingly vituperative political campaign, Mr. Cheney this week again questioned the credentials of Senator John Kerry and his ability to be commander in chief. Mr. Kerry, who was decorated in Vietnam and has made his service there a central element of his campaign, fired back. Putting Mr. Cheney's record in the spotlight, Mr. Kerry said that he "got every deferment in the world and decided he had better things to do."

more...
www.nytimes.com

[goclark]

1. Nail Chaney - Go Kerry! n/t

[BeFree]

2. #2 Chickenhawk!

Or should he known as Dickenhawk?

It disgraces me to be associated with the wormy hawk.

[senseandsensibility]

3. Finally is right

and Seelye does manage to regurgitate the basic facts without any snide inuendos about Kerry. That in itself is a miracle. But she is one of the all time media whores, and I wouldn't count on her to keep up the pressure. It's much more fun for her to write about Kerry's butler serving him peanut butter sandwiches, and I'm sure she'll be back to that by tomorrow. After all, the murican people have a right to know about these troubling traits of Kerry's.

[gonefishing]

4. BullS#&% Bull#&% Bull#&%

Everyone of those bastards that called Clinton a draft dodger for 10 years will not say a word about these two idiots. It just drives me nuts.

[madrchsod]

5. i hate to throw a bucket

of water on the fire but cheney did have legit deferments. if he turned 26 in 68 then he prob. wouldn`t have been drafted. student deferments up to 68 were very easy to come by but after the massive build up in 67-8 student deferments and new fathers were really restricted . i know because i lost my deferment as a student and as a new father.
the problem with dickie is that he feels no need to explain that his deferments were legit and of course his blood lust to use other people deaths for his personal profit. he feels he has no need to explain anything to the people of the united states,why should he we didn`t elect him ,he`s a vice president of corporate america

[PSU84]

6. Whether they were "legit" is irrelevant.

The issue is that the warmonger-in-chief sought and received numerous deferments while his country was at war and he was eligible to serve.

I, for one, do not begrudge those who sought and received deferments unless they later became so-called defense "experts" and advocates of wars that others would have to fight. The issue is that Cheney is a hypocrite; that he did not have the courage to fight when thousands of others who were ineligible for a deferment were drafted and shipped off to fight in Vietnam. If Cheney were not a lying hypocrite he woould publicly acknowledge that he is unfit for public office and that he has no right to serve in a position where he can send others off to war because he himself is a coward. THAT'S the issue.

[bobbieinok]

12. and Clinton had legit deferment - but did repubs ever admit that????

[readmylips]

7. DaDick never changes his spots...

per article:

Mr. Cheney was among the vast majority of 16 million men — about 60 percent of those eligible — who avoided the draft by legal means.

Yep, also got to be president/vp by legal means..well connected.

Article also states that dark skins and black Americans had no way to hide from the draft. They were not attending college or higher education and were easily drafted, while the da dick had means of paying for college and using legal means...or had better things to do than defend our nation. He even planned his marriage to his sweety Lyn, so that he could also get a deferment, and gave her a baby for another deferment. DaDick, you are a great American patriot...you piece of shit, crook.

[LittleApple81]

8. A friend of mine came as a resident alien in 1966. He was

Latin American, he was tall, had some college education...perfect cannon fodder. He did not pass the physical because of a broken elbow. 4Y given. Then they wrote to his doctor in his country of origin to check if he really had broken his elbow; then he got a letter from a Health and Welfare department offering to operate his elbow for free. In the letter they said they had "no connection to the draft board..." It was the weirdest thing in the world. Obviously, he graciously declined the offer to fix his elbow.

[Forkboy]

9. Bummer for them

They brought this shit up by attacking Kerry now it's biting them on the ass.

[chimpymustgo]

10. All their dirty tricks are backfiring.

They are truly the gang that couldn't shoot straight.

11. We need to remember why the tricks are backfiring

It's because this election cycle, the Democrats have finally started fighting back which we really didn't do much of in the first two years of Bush's term or in the last presidential election.

[ACK]

13. For the people who say Kerry is not being tough

Bullshit. The press refuses to cover how tough he is being on them in his statements.

Dig that line.

Mr. Kerry said that he "got every deferment in the world and decided he had better things to do."

That is not wussy crap.

That is a tough but not over the wall criticism of a man that is being hypocritical.

Don't forget our own words about the whore corporate media.

[Gothmog]

14. If Clark is VP nominee, this could be fun

If Clark ends up as VP nominee, then it is going to be fun comparing Cheney's record to Clark's record.

[tishaLA]

15. Surely Kit Seelye had someone else

moving her hand to get these words down. Surely she couldn't have said something nasty about the chimp administration. At least she understands Mr. Cheney is only acting this way because of the "vituperative" nature of this campaign...I'm sure, at heart, she knows Sen. Kerry is to blame.

At least she didn't aim for the chimp himself. Otherwise, the earth would have opened up and we would have reached the apocalypse.