The American Spectator

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2.9.04 @ 12:01AM

BLOODYMINDED
Re: Ben Stein's Democrats Taste Blood:

Ben Stein's latest was too delicious for words. It was so good it just about moved me to tears.

Forget "Ben Stein's Money," just keep the incredible political insight coming!
-- Jim Bjaloncik
Stow, Ohio

Ben, I read you, I admire you, I love ya. But that piece is your weakest I can recall reading. Your intelligence, perception, and wit just weren't well served. It read like something you just fired off when irritated and went off half cocked. It struck me as the political commentary equivalent of Rod McKuen poetry.

Everything you wrote is indeed true, but sometimes, Ben, you gotta hunker down and get mean. That's it! You sounded like you were whining. Take Jed Babbin's lead and just nail'em to the canvas once in a while. Don't hold back. Drop the hammer.
-- Stephen "Doc" Watson

It's not the point whether or not the men served in the National Guard or in Vietnam. The point is, once in the Guard the president went AWOL.
-- Thomas Kolter
Tucson, Arizona

Ben your logic is flawed. It is the Republicans that have made military service the macho criteria for the presidency.
-- unsigned

BULL RUNNERS
Re: R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.'s The Party of War Heroes:

You were too kind by half to Senator Lieberman. Yes, he may be the most gentlemanly of the lot. However, he too threw his principles over the side when he signed on as Algore's running mate. Take note, also, of his recent backing and filling about his comments on the horror of "what opponents call" partial birth abortion. The man wears the mantle of reason and moderation well, but it is, unfortunately, a sham after all. The gentlemen of the Democratic senatorial contingent can be counted on one hand -- Zell Miller, John Breaux, and, possibly, Evan Bayh. The rest are charlatans of the first order. The charlatans of the Republican senatorial contingent, by comparison, can be, fortunately, counted on one hand - Arlen Specter comes immediately to mind, followed by Lincoln Chafee, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins.
-- P.A. Melita
Charlottesville, Virginia

I doubt that Terry McAuliffe will promote the idea that Clinton served at Bull Run as he probably has no clue what Bull Run was except some vague notion that it has something to do with that "thing in Pamplona."

Besides, we all know that had Clinton been there, one would have found him in the chow line for seconds, whilst eyeing the laundress.
-- Paul Austin

I have been nosing around about the "transgressions" and "desertion" of George W. Bush and it would appear most of the heroic zealots of the Left have not been paying attention to what transpired nearly 35 years ago.

From what seems to be fact -- and not the fiction of useful idiots like Michael Moore -- Bush was able to obtain a slot in the Texas ANG. To get in he had to go through primary and advanced flight school and then convert to fly the F-102A Delta Dagger interceptor.

The F-102 had a long and troubled development career, and once in service was found to not be able to do what it was supposed to -- go supersonic on its way to intercept Soviet bombers -- and as such began phasing out of the active inventory in 1959 as they replaced it with the much better F-106A (which could.)

By 1970, the F-102 had been to Vietnam for a short period of time -- long enough to find out it did not belong in a "dogfight" environment and for at least one to get shot down -- and was withdrawn, never to serve again. Therefore, Bush would not have a chance to go to war in this aircraft, and in point of fact in 1970 the USAF began to cull them out for conversion to target drones.

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