The ultra-conservative Washington Times noted today that former-Sen. Max Cleland (D), a triple-amputee from his service in Vietnam, doesn’t think much of Howard Dean’s campaign for president.
“We cannot afford to have a leader who weaseled out of going to Vietnam on a medical deferment for a bad back and wound up on the ski slopes of Aspen like Howard Dean,” Cleland said recently.
Of course, Cleland is an active Kerry supporter, so his criticism shouldn’t come as a big surprise. But the former senator’s comments raise an interesting point — will Dean’s Vietnam deferment be a campaign issue?
My first instinct, regardless of my opinion of Dean’s candidacy, is to say that his lack of service won’t — and shouldn’t — be held against him. I enthusiastically backed Clinton despite his avoidance of Vietnam and it’s not as if Bush, who pulled family strings to get into the National Guard and then didn’t even show up, would be in a position to criticize in next year’s general election.
At this point, I view having service in Vietnam as a big plus for a candidate, but not having served as a relative neutral. That is to say, candidates like Wesley Clark and John Kerry are stronger candidates in my eyes because of their record as literal war heroes, particularly in a time when national security weighs so heavily on voters’ minds, but I don’t hold it against other candidates who avoided service.
That said, Dean should probably work on his answer to this question a bit.
To review, in case you haven’t heard anything about this, Dean went for his armed services physical in New York in 1970. He brought x-rays and a letter from his orthopedist with him, noting a back problem (he had an unfused vertebrae). Dean was given a 1-Y classification, meaning he would only be called to serve in the event of an extreme national emergency.
Relieved, Dean graduated from Yale and lived the life of a ski bum in Aspen, hitting moguls despite his back troubles. In the summer months, Dean worked odd jobs that required strenuous physical activity, including pouring concrete.
The issue came up briefly in Dean’s appearance on Meet the Press in June, but Dean shrugged off the question, said he would have served if asked to do so, and the matter more or less disappeared until fairly recently.
Unfortunately for Dean, it’s resurfaced. A recent New York Times article raised the issue and even quoted Dean’s mother as saying, “Yeah, that looks bad.”
Complicating matters, Dean told the Times that, in retrospect, he was probably healthy enough to have joined the military and serve in Vietnam. “I guess that’s probably true,” he said. “I mean, I was in no hurry to get into the military.”
The fact that Dean now admits that he could have served but chose not to makes the matter slightly worse for him politically, especially as he goes up against two war heroes.
Tom Brokaw raised the issue in Des Moines Monday during the candidates nationally-televised debate. Brokaw asked Dean, “If you had any reservations about serving, why not just, having left the letter at home, and said, ‘Examine me; see what you think’? Why take the letter?”
Dean never really got around to answering Brokaw’s question.
“Look, I did not serve in Vietnam,” Dean said. “I was given a deferment by the United States government because they did not feel they wanted me in the Army. Dick Gephardt didn’t serve in Vietnam. Joe Lieberman didn’t serve in Vietnam. John Edwards didn’t serve in Vietnam. None of us up here except for General Clark served in Vietnam, and Senator Kerry. I told the truth. I fulfilled my obligation. I took a physical. I failed the physical. If that makes this an issue, then so be it.”
All of this is true, but it’s not a great answer. First, as Slate’s William Saletan noted yesterday, it’s not entirely fair to Dean’s rivals. Gephardt didn’t serve in Vietnam, but he did serve in the National Guard (and unlike Bush, he showed up). Dean also included Edwards in the group, but in fairness, Edwards was too young to be drafted during the war.
Second, for Dean to say he “fulfilled” his “obligation” sounds awkward. He agreed to show up for his mandatory physical, but that’s about it. Then he went skiing.
I’m not prepared to condemn Dean’s choice 30 years ago. I wasn’t even born when he got out of military service, and were I in his shoes at the time, I suspect I would have done the exact same thing. I am saying, however, as a political matter, Dean made a mistake by undercutting his own excuse — a back ailment — admitting that he was physically able to serve, but chose not to.
I don’t know if this issue will linger, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.