Earrings and a ponytail.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

like Bill Clinton, "loathe the military."

Clinton did not loathe the military.

[jwwashburn]

Originally Posted by Matt

Clinton did not loathe the military.

He may have you there, Steve. If Bubba said it then there is every reason to believe that he does not loathe the military. I will stand on the side of history ans assume the opposite of what Bubba actually said.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Matt

Clinton did not loathe the military.

Well, he said it in a letter to a ROTC Colonel who was trying to recruit him.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Well, he said it at a press conference when he was governor of Arkansas.

No, he didn't.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Oh, well; we're having an adult conversation, so this thread's going to be censored and closed.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Matt

No, he didn't.

Statement has been revised to indicate the facts.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Well, the thread was all about earrings and ponytails to start with, so this could just be the thread for any other discussion, since that subject has been played out pretty much.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Well, he said it in a letter to a ROTC Colonel who was trying to recruit him.

No, he didn't. That is both a misquotation and taken out of context.

[jwwashburn]

How could a misquotation have a context?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by jwwashburn

How could a misquotation have a context?

Yes, it could only be one or the other, but not both. In the context Clinton meant it, he was describing people who he identified strongly with.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Yes, it could only be one or the other, but not both. In the context Clinton meant it, he was describing people who he identified strongly with.

It was both.

He never stated "I loathe the military," nor was he stating that the military was bad.

It was a lamentation of the situation of the era, one in which he felt that a proud institution was being used in an immoral or improper fashion. This is abundantly clear in the sentences following the "loathing" comment.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Matt

No, he didn't. That is both a misquotation and taken out of context.

In his letter, he talked about his reasons for sympathizing with anti-war, anti-military supporters and draft dodgers, which he admitted he was. This is the paragraph which is often equated with his loathing of the military, written immediately following his explanation of why he would not go fight for his country.

"And that is where I am now, writing to you because you have been good to me and have a right to know what I think and feel. I am writing too in the hope that my telling this one story will help you understand more clearly how so many fine people have come to find themselves still loving their country but loathing the military, to which you and other good men have devoted years, lifetimes, of the best service you could give. To many of us, it is no longer clear what is service and what is disservice, or, if it is clear, the conclusion is likely to be illegal."

[SanDiegoSteve]

Okay, we both know what he said. But did you read the rest of the letter in which he basically told the Colonel that he got a deferment to avoid the draft?

[Ump153]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Okay, we both know what he said. But did you read the rest of the letter in which he basically told the Colonel that he got a deferment to avoid the draft?

Yep. How is that any different from millions of others including many who later became famous chicken hawks?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Ump153

Yep. How is that any different from millions of others including many who later became famous chicken hawks?

Uh, none of them were elected president?

Sorry, I can't relate. I volunteered during the Vietnam War at the age of 17.