--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], "John D. Giorgis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>The reason those lies took hold, that were only quesitonably >mistruths, is
>because of Gore's long history of exaggerations.
I have a hard time accepting that. Several quotes that you used talk about
emotional topics on which he, like Reagan, could be telling emotional truths
instead of facts. He was opposed to tobacco, yet he sympathized with the
farmers. He did change his mind on guns and abortion, and spoke of his
empathy too strongly. He indeed should be called on it, but it happens all
the time in politics.
The funny thing is, some people can always get away with it. Reagan got away
with it, and Bush Sr. didn't. Clinton does. Bush Jr. does, even though he
has lied about what Texas spends on health care for poor. He lied up front
about how much money he spent on the elections vs. the democrats. That's
OK, because he is perceived as a nice regular Joe, like Reagan and Clinton.
I saw another similarity with Clinton. According to the Boston Globe, he
fudged his service during the 'Nam era.
At
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/305/nation/Questions_remain_on_Bush_s_service_as_Guard_pilot+.shtml
we read:
"Five months after the Globe first reported those discrepancies, Bush's
biography on his presidential campaign Web site remains unchanged, stating
that he served as a pilot in the Texas Guard from 1968 to 1973.
In fact, Bush only flew with the 111th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at
Ellington Field in Houston from June 1970 until April 1972. That month he
ceased flying altogether, two years before his military commitment ended, an
unusual step that has left some veteran fighter pilots puzzled.
In Alabama, a group of Vietnam veterans recently offered a $1,000 reward for
anyone who can verify Bush's claim that he performed service at a Montgomery
air guard unit in 1972, when Bush was temporarily in Alabama working on a
political campaign.
So far, no one has come forward. The reward is now $3,500.
What's more, a Bush campaign spokesman acknowledged last week that he knows
of no witnesses who can attest to Bush's attendance at drills after he
returned to Houston in late 1972 and before his early release from the Guard
in September 1973.
There is strong evidence that Bush performed no military service, as was
required, when he moved from Houston to Alabama to work on a US Senate
campaign from May to November 1972. There are no records of any service and
the commanding officer of the unit Bush was assigned to said he never saw
him."
All this after he got into a special National Guard unit with slots held
open for kids of important people. I can understand Clinton's unwillingness
to serve in the military a lot more. He was against the war in general. Bush
was for other people going, but, apparently, he didn't feel he needed to
fulfill the requirements of the Guard Unit. With an important dad, he was
probably right. But he should have not lied about it on his bio, right?
Lets face it, Carter was the last truthful president we elected, and
probably the last we want to elect for a long time. It took Watergate for
the American people to really want the kind of person who tells the truth as
a habit as president. As it was, telling the truth in an interview almost
cost Carter an election in which he was ahead by 20%.
Dan'm Traeki Ring of Crystallized Knowledge.
Known for calculating, but not known for shutting up
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