24 March 2008

A Glorious Political Tradition

Ambitious politicians from "Tail Gunner" Joe McCarthy to Richard Nixon to Lyndon Johnson to John Kerry have been accused of exaggerating their war records in order to make themselves more popular or appear more heroic. Add Senator Clinton to this glorious gallery, now that her story of courage under fire at the Tuzla airport has been crushingly, embarrassingly refuted. She's apologized for misspeaking and notes that she didn't characterize her arrival in Tuzla the same way in her autobiography, while excusing herself by estimating that she speaks millions of words a day.

But wait a minute -- millions of words? Is that physically possible? This sounds like another job for the sentinels of the Internet. Let's get to the bottom of this matter as well, but let's maintain some perspective on the controversy. What's worse, after all? Exaggerating a past adventure, as the Senator has done, or repeatedly asserting a delusional association between a Shiite state and a Sunni terrorist group, as another Senator has done recently?

1 comment:

hobbyfan said...

To borrow a newly minted word from one Roger Clemens, Swillary "misremembered" the events of that day at Tuzla. What else did you expect?