Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is a POS poseur*. He falsely claimed to be a Vietnam vet for political gain, and now he's been called on it.
He rounded up some compliant VFW members as a backdrop for his non-apology. The scene reminded me of the faithful wife standing by her man as he confessed his philandering:
"On a few occasions, I have misspoken about my service and I regret that. I take full responsibility," he said, surrounded by friendly veterans at a VFW hall in West Hartford. (NY Daily News)Taking responsibility for his own BS... How refreshing!
You don't "misspeak" about such topics. You know if you were there or not. Honorable veterans know that and are careful to characterize their service so there are no misunderstandings. It's for this reason I don't harp on about my service in various places. Yes, I was there, and there was a war on, but I was a comm troop, not a door kicker or out on patrol, and I don't want to give anyone the false idea that I did anything heroic.
The only saving grace for this serial exaggerator is that he has been a rock-solid advocate for veterans, which probably explains the VFW photo op.
The Connecticut VFW Commander was not too happy about the whole thing:
The commander of Connecticut’s Veterans of Foreign Wars organization blasted Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal Tuesday, referring to his prior statements of service in Vietnam as “outrageous.”
“Mr. Blumenthal was considered one of the best friends a veteran could have in Connecticut. It is a true shame that he let a false claim of Vietnam service change that,” said Richard DiFederico, in a statement. “Those who served in uniform during the Vietnam era also deserve our gratitude, which makes Mr. Blumenthal's claim to be something he is not so outrageous.” (Politico)
Commander DiFederico makes an important point: All who served in uniform have earned our gratitude, and Blumenthal has served honorably. It is a shame he has now dishonored himself by trying to steal the honestly-earned glory of our true war heroes, some of whom never made it home.
He needs to drop the weasel words and give a direct and sincere apology to the true heroes whose glory he attempted to steal.
* - Uncle Jimbo at Blackfive - Go see what he has to say about all this...
