Romney Faces New Scrutiny Over Vietnam War Draft Deferments

Mitt Romney Faces New Scrutiny Over Vietnam War-Era Draft Deferments

AN DIEGO — On a stage crowded with war heroes, Mitt Romney recently praised the sacrifice "of the great men and women of every generation who serve in our armed services."

It is a sacrifice the Republican presidential candidate did not make.

Though an early supporter of the Vietnam War, Romney avoided military service at the height of the fighting after high school by seeking and receiving four draft deferments, according to Selective Service records. They included college deferments and a 31-month stretch as a "minister of religion" in France, a classification for Mormon missionaries that the church at the time feared was being overused. The country was cutting troop levels by the time he became eligible for the draft, and his lottery number was not called.

President Barack Obama, Romney's opponent in this year's campaign, did not serve in the military either. The Democrat, 50, was a child during the Vietnam conflict...

He said in 2007 – his first White House bid under way – that he had "longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam." But his actions, Selective Service records and previous statements show little interest in joining a conflict that ultimately claimed more than 58,000 American lives.

Still, he repeatedly cites his commitment to public service and the nation's military while campaigning for president. Indeed, Romney strongly supported the war at first. As a freshman at Stanford University, he protested anti-war activists. In one photo, he's shown in a small crowd of students, smiling broadly, wearing a sport jacket and holding up a sign that says, "Speak Out, Don't Sit In."

But the frustration he recalled in 2007 does not match a sentiment he shared as a Massachusetts Senate candidate in 1994, when he told The Boston Herald, "I was not planning on signing up for the military."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/0 ... f=politics

YessireeBob, he supports "the troops"...But just couldn't see his way clear, (from his Mormon missionary duties), to do anything about it. I'm sure the usual knee-jerk military support for a GOP candidate is going to be strengthened from such an historic story...

(Almost as stirring as Dick Cheney's story... or for that matter, Bush's...)

I don't remember LJ ever posting about Clinton's draft dodging, anyone else?

If they offer them, you should take them, if you are smart. I didn't know Mormon missions gave you a pass, I do know that Catholic seminaries screened pretty hard during Vietnam to make sure men weren't using them as a place to hide out until the war blew over.

I didn't realize Clinton was running?

FredHayek wrote: I don't remember LJ ever posting about Clinton's draft dodging, anyone else?

We're you on a message board with LJ when Clinton ran for president? If not, how would you know. Why make a statement like that if you can't back it up with anything?

I was on the board that no one talks about anymore, but I don't remember how far back I was there. I do know we discussed Bush's record as a military pilot.

Maybe someone could ask LJ how she feels about Clinton's draft dodging. I've never heard her say anything negative about him but maybe this would be a first.

Draft dodging would be ok in an "illegal war" like Iraq?

LadyJazzer wrote: I didn't realize Clinton was running?

I didn't realize Bush was still running.

FredHayek wrote: I was on the board that no one talks about anymore, but I don't remember how far back I was there. I do know we discussed Bush's record as a military pilot.

Clinton was elected in 1992 and 1996....I'm not sure there were even message boards back then, and the internet was in it's early years commercially......I remember in 1996 paying 2.95/hour on dial-up to use the internet. Want to try again to back up your claim?

Non issue for me, I don't expect most politicians to enlist, call me unpatriotic but Some are cut out for militarism service and some aren't. Not an issue except how they "deferred".