Biden Received 5 Deferments

[Shady]

Biden received 5 deferments before being declared medically ineligible for Vietnam

DOVER, Del. (AP) _ Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden received five student draft deferments during the Vietnam War, the same number of deferments received by Vice President Dick Cheney, and later was disqualified from service because of asthma as a teenager.

Officials with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign released Biden's Selective Service records at the request of The Associated Press. Less detailed records were available from a National Archives facility in Philadelphia.

According to the documents, Biden, 65, received several deferments while he was an undergraduate at the University of Delaware and later as a law student at Syracuse University. A month after undergoing a physical exam in April 1968, Biden received a Selective Service classification of 1-Y, meaning he was available for service only in the event of national emergency.

"As a result of a physical exam on April 5, 1968, Joe Biden was classified 1-Y and disqualified from service because of asthma as a teenager," said David Wade, a campaign spokesman.

In "Promises to Keep," a memoir that was published last year and became an instant best-seller after he was tapped as Obama's running mate, Biden never mentions his asthma, recounting an active childhood, work as a lifeguard and football exploits in high school.

Link

Questions:

Will the left care as much as the Dick Cheney's deferments?

Will Dan Rather being investigating deeper into how and why such deferments were achieved?

Should Biden release the appropriate medical records related to his so-called condition of asthma?

[bush_cheney2004]

Questions:

Will the left care as much as the Dick Cheney's deferments?

Nope....won't care at all. They'll be scared of Dick Cheney even after he is dead.

Will Dan Rather being investigating deeper into how and why such deferments were achieved?

Isn't Dan still busy suing CBS?

Should Biden release the appropriate medical records related to his so-called condition of asthma?

Yes...and herpes too!

[BubberMiley]

They wouldn't care, unless of course he started a war in order to fatten the bottom line of a corporation very close to his mechanical heart. Otherwise, it's totally irrelevant.

Edited September 4, 2008 by BubberMiley

[Argus]

Biden received 5 deferments before being declared medically ineligible for Vietnam

DOVER, Del. (AP) _ Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden received five student draft deferments during the Vietnam War, the same number of deferments received by Vice President Dick Cheney, and later was disqualified from service because of asthma as a teenager.

Why on earth would anyone with more than half a brain care about that? Deferments were normal for those studying at college or with physical ailments. And was Biden a big rah-rah supporter of the war like Bush and Cheney? Is Biden a big, muscle-flexing miltarist eager to send soldiers into battle?

From my understanding, Cheny's college career lasted unusually long, and while he was a supporter of the war he was't eager to go himself. He married right after the government threatened to remove draft deferments for single men even in school, and then had a child with his wife just over 9 months after the government did remove deferment from married men who had no children. This all mirrors George Bush, an enthusiastic supporter of the war who took great pains to ensure he himself never went near it.

The question is not "Did you fight in the war, daddy?" but "Are you a flaming hypocritical weasel"?

Bush and Cheney certainly are. Don't know about Biden but no evidence of it on this issue.

[bush_cheney2004]

Why on earth would anyone with more than half a brain care about that? Deferments were normal for those studying at college or with physical ailments. And was Biden a big rah-rah supporter of the war like Bush and Cheney? Is Biden a big, muscle-flexing miltarist eager to send soldiers into battle?

No, he was a little supporter of the war...voting YES.

This all mirrors George Bush, an enthusiastic supporter of the war who took great pains to ensure he himself never went near it.

Hardly....he served in the Texas Air Guard flying F-102's, and some squadrons were activated for 'Nam duty. Bush volunteered but didn't have enough flight hours. I can think of much better ways to avoid going to war.

The question is not "Did you fight in the war, daddy?" but "Are you a flaming hypocritical weasel"?

Bush and Cheney certainly are. Don't know about Biden but no evidence of it on this issue.

Of course you don't know....and that's OK.

[Liam]

Will the left care as much as the Dick Cheney's deferments?

Will the right care? The GOP won the argument in 2000 and 2004 that actual military service isn't a requirement for someone to be at the highest levels of the chain of command. (See Cheney, the Romney boys, etc.)

[Shakeyhands]

No, he was a little supporter of the war...voting YES.

Hardly....he served in the Texas Air Guard flying F-102's, and some squadrons were activated for 'Nam duty. Bush volunteered but didn't have enough flight hours. I can think of much better ways to avoid going to war.

Of course you don't know....and that's OK.

Yes based on what BC? Is there a cite for Bush volunteering?

I thought Argus pretty much slammed the door on this thread with a great post... guess not, someone will always pick up the pom poms.

[Argus]

Will the right care? The GOP won the argument in 2000 and 2004 that actual military service isn't a requirement for someone to be at the highest levels of the chain of command. (See Cheney, the Romney boys, etc.)

Not only that, but even decorated volunteers can be mocked, their heroism and competency called into question by men who went to great lengths to ensure they never served.

[Argus]

No, he was a little supporter of the war...voting YES.

Did Biden support the Vietnam war? In any event, there's no hypocrisy in not going to war, and then later on voting yes to a differant conflict. There is hypocrisy in weaseling your way out of serving in a war you supported, then going on to be a bombastic supporter of military intervention all over the world.

Hardly....he served in the Texas Air Guard flying F-102's,

Can you actually write that with a straight face?

[bush_cheney2004]

Did Biden support the Vietnam war? In any event, there's no hypocrisy in not going to war, and then later on voting yes to a differant conflict. There is hypocrisy in weaseling your way out of serving in a war you supported, then going on to be a bombastic supporter of military intervention all over the world.

WTF? George Bush is the POTUS, and that's what America does. You are going to have to bitch about a lot of American presidents if that's your problem, and a few PMs too. And if you don't like it, tough noogies.

Can you actually write that with a straight face?

Check the record...call Dan Rather (he is available). How many supersonic interceptors have you type qualified in? Find out what an F-102 is/was as well as Palace Alert and Palace Guard.

[bush_cheney2004]

Not only that, but even decorated volunteers can be mocked, their heroism and competency called into question by men who went to great lengths to ensure they never served.

Yea, that happens when the decorated volunteers throw their medals on the White House lawn and spit on service members in front of Congressional committees.

[bush_cheney2004]

Yes based on what BC? Is there a cite for Bush volunteering?

I thought Argus pretty much slammed the door on this thread with a great post... guess not, someone will always pick up the pom poms.

Here is a thorough review of the F-102, Vietnam, and a citation for volunteering (Palace Alert). Others have confirmed the story, even though Bush lacked sufficient hours. Only an idiot would volunteer for fighters during a war if the intention was to avoid combat duty, let alone the risk of flying a widowmaker like the Dagger.

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/history/q0185.shtml

[Black Dog]

Here is a thorough review of the F-102, Vietnam, and a citation for volunteering (Palace Alert). Others have confirmed the story, even though Bush lacked sufficient hours. Only an idiot would volunteer for fighters during a war if the intention was to avoid combat duty, let alone the risk of flying a widowmaker like the Dagger.

Bush didn't volunteer.

Fred Bradley, a friend of Bush's who was also serving in the Texas ANG, reported that he and Bush inquired about participating in Palace Alert. However, the two were told by their flight instructor, Maj. Maurice Udell, that they were not yet qualified since they were still in training and did not have the 500 hours of flight experience required. Furthermore, ANG veteran Col. William Campenni, who was a fellow pilot in the 111th FIS at the time, told the Washington Times that Palace Alert had stopped accepting new applicants before Bush would have been eligible.

That's handy.

[bush_cheney2004]

Bush didn't volunteer.

Really? So the F-102's fly themselves....maybe you were thinking of the Avro Arrow.

That's handy.

Not anymore.....his second term as POTUS is nearly over....and that's all there is. I wonder where his presidential library will be?

[Black Dog]

Really? So the F-102's fly themselves....maybe you were thinking of the Avro Arrow.

Bush didn't volunteer for Palace Guard, braniac. Do you read the posts you respond to or are you really a bug in ths system that vomits up inane talking points when certain key words appear?

Not anymore.....his second term as POTUS is nearly over....and that's all there is. I wonder where his presidential library will be?

A shoebox.

Edited September 5, 2008 by Black Dog

[bush_cheney2004]

Bush didn't volunteer for Palace Guard, braniac. Do you read the posts you respond to or are you really a bug in ths system that vomits up inane talking points when certain key words appear?

No you "dolt"...it was Palace Alert! My kid's a better Googler than you.

Edited September 5, 2008 by bush_cheney2004

[Black Dog]

No you "dolt"...it was Palace Alert! My kid's a better Googler than you.

Don't ever change, b_c, you stupid, stupid person.

[Moonlight Graham]

I don't blame Cheney nor Bush nor Biden for not wanting to fight in that war. I probably would have done the same thing.

Though i suppose there's a difference in being a conscientious objector and being a coward.

Edited September 5, 2008 by Moonlight Graham

[bush_cheney2004]

I don't blame Cheney nor Bush nor Biden for not wanting to fight in that war. I probably would have done the same thing.

Though i suppose there's a difference in being a conscientious objector and being a coward.

Vietnam Vets have not fared well in this sort of game....so called "draft dodgers" Clinton and Bush Jr. both succeeded where 'Nam veterans Kerry and Gore failed (for president).

A John McCain victory would break that jinx.

[Liam]

One reason I wanted Hillary to fall short in the primaries was that she would have been an emblem of the Vietnam era, particularly if McCain was going to be the GOP nominee. And part of me wants to see McCain ride into the sunset for the same reason. Maybe it's that I'm a post-boomer, but I can't help but think how nasty, divisive and polarizing the boomer generation of politicians are (Bill Clinton, Hillary, Gingrich, DeLay, Giuliani, Gore, Kerry, Bush, Rove, Cheney, Pelosi) and I think much of the root of that problem is Vietnam.

The boomer generation of politicians still hear the echoes of Vietnam in almost every issue relating to national defense and I think they're still fighting at the campus barricades a bit too much. They have to let it go, but if they won't (and I don't think they will), the only way of moving to a new era is to finally put the old soldiers of the Vietnam homefront battles out to pasture.

[Argus]

Here is a thorough review of the F-102, Vietnam, and a citation for volunteering (Palace Alert). Others have confirmed the story, even though Bush lacked sufficient hours.

Yes, it's hard to get in sufficient flight time when you don't show up for duty.

[bush_cheney2004]

...The boomer generation of politicians still hear the echoes of Vietnam in almost every issue relating to national defense and I think they're still fighting at the campus barricades a bit too much. They have to let it go, but if they won't (and I don't think they will), the only way of moving to a new era is to finally put the old soldiers of the Vietnam homefront battles out to pasture.

No doubt, but the lesson learned from Vietnam is for America not to abandon its armed forces. Spitting on the new soldiers, sailors, airmen, or marines in airports is no longer acceptable!

Edited September 5, 2008 by bush_cheney2004

[Liam]

No doubt, but the lesson learned from Vietnam is for America not to abandon its armed forces. Spitting on the new soldiers, sailors, airmen, or marines in airports is no longer acceptable!

You are right, but that's a lesson the hippies need to take away from Vietnam. The Nixon Youth's lesson is that military power is best used with clear objectives, against identifiable enemies, and not in half-way measures when necessary. The dialogue that persists between the likes of the Cindy Sheehans on one side and the Richard Perles on the other tells me that neither group has learned from Vietnam and that's why I think we need to move beyond that generation's obsessions.

[Shakeyhands]

No doubt, but the lesson learned from Vietnam is for America not to abandon its armed forces. Spitting on the new soldiers, sailors, airmen, or marines in airports is no longer acceptable!

Haven't we already determined that there was no credible proof of spitting taking place?

By the way, my friend Dan, well he told someone once that I voluteered for something brave too...

[bush_cheney2004]

You are right, but that's a lesson the hippies need to take away from Vietnam. The Nixon Youth's lesson is that military power is best used with clear objectives, against identifiable enemies, and not in half-way measures when necessary. The dialogue that persists between the likes of the Cindy Sheehans on one side and the Richard Perles on the other tells me that neither group has learned from Vietnam and that's why I think we need to move beyond that generation's obsessions.

I think they have learned.....as evidenced by the subsequent invasions and/or military actions. The application of raw American military power has not been absent since Vietnam, with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter. It has just become more politically acceptable if the casualty containers flying to Dover AFB are much fewer in number.