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“…And, you know, honorable.”
On one of the Sunday interview programs yesterday, the course of conversation led George Stephanopoulos to ask Barack Obama whether as a young man he “considered serving” in the military. Mr. Obama’s response:
And I actually always thought of the military as an ennobling and, you know, honorable option. But keep in mind that I graduated in 1979. The Vietnam War had come to an end. We weren’t engaged in an active military conflict at that point. And so, it’s not an option that I ever decided to pursue.Ann Althouse based a poll on the response. It asks readers whether they believe Mr. Obama indeed considered military service. The choices are “yes,” “no,” and “hell, no.”
It isn’t (primarily, anyway) that one wants to insult the man, neuter him, by noting that he never once considered military duty. It is just that his answer is so brilliantly blithe. I mean, the notion that Barack Obama as a young man considered joining the U.S. military is surprising even to middle-aged Barack Obama.
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