May 22, 2010

          Comes now the sad case of Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, now a Democratic candidate to replace retiring Chris Dodd in the U.S. Senate.  He has a problem.  He has lied about (misstated? no, lied about) whether he served in Vietnam during our war there.      The New York Times reported this past week that Blumenthal told a group in March, 2008, "We have learned something important since I served in Vietnam."  In fact, the Times went on, Blumenthal received five deferments while completing his graduate studies and then joined the Marine Corps Reserve.  He was never sent overseas.      Blumenthal told the Times he had "misspoken" about his service in the speech they quoted and perhaps at other times, adding,  "My intention has always been to be completely clear and straightforward out of respect to the veterans who served in Vietnam."  That, of course, is nonsense.      I was drafted during the Korean War but was never sent to Korea.  I cannot imagine ever forgetting nor misspeaking about either of those facts.  They were important facts in my life.  I covered the Vietnam war for CBS in the 1960s.  I cannot imagine ever forgetting nor misspeaking about that either.  It too was an important fact in my life.      Trust me, Mr. Blumenthal:  it's hard to forget a war zone.  
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