How Important Is a Military Record?

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Does a military record, or lack thereof, influence your voting decisions? Most '08 Candidates Lack Military Record WASHINGTON (AP) - The 2008 presidential campaign is long on war rhetoric and short on warriors. Of the top tier of 2008 candidates, only Republican John McCain has been to war and served in uniform. "It teaches you certain things, but I don't think it makes you a better candidate for higher office," said Navy veteran Edward Ferrari, 76, of Randolph, N.J. "It teaches you honor and duty. I guess you can get that in other places, too." Polls indicate that while having a military background can be helpful to presidential candidates, a majority of adults don't see it as essential. Many people say candidates who've served as a governor, member of Congress or business executive are better prepared for the Oval Office than a general or admiral. More broadly, an AP-Ipsos poll last month indicates leadership traits or experience are far less important to voters than character attributes such as honesty. To some, like Richard Land, head of public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention, a war record still counts. "When you're a war hero, you have less to prove on the character front," he said, comparing McCain with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the front-runner in national popularity polls, who did not serve in the military. And Vietnam veteran Audrey Birgstresser said presidents with military experience understand the sacrifices of deployed soldiers and how to deftly resolve conflicts. "They know how to make decisions under pressure because that's what their life is all about," said Birgstresser, 59, of Harrisburg, Pa. Fred Greenstein, a political scientist at Princeton University, doubts that even the few veterans in the race will make much of their service given the situation in Iraq. Since at least the 1992 election, being a war hero hasn't been a ticket to the White House. Former President Clinton, who was never in the armed forces, defeated two World War II combat veterans - former President George H.W. Bush in 1992 and former Sen. Bob Dole in 1996. President George W. Bush's National Guard duty helped keep him out of Vietnam, yet he defeated three veterans of that conflict - McCain in the 2000 GOP primaries, Democrat Al Gore in the 2000 election and Democrat John Kerry in 2004. Of the current Democratic front-runners, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, 45, was too young to have been drafted during the Vietnam War. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, 53, had a draft number that was never called. And, Sen. Hillary Clinton, 59, like most women her age, would not have been expected to serve. Women weren't subject to the draft. Among the other candidates in the Democratic race, Sen. Chris Dodd, 62, of Connecticut, served in the Army Reserve from 1969 to 1975. Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico received student and medical classifications that probably spared him from service in Vietnam, including one for a deviated septum. Richardson had a draft lottery number of 131 in 1970, a year when men with numbers as high as 195 were called. Among the leading Republican candidates, only McCain, 70, has a military record. The Arizona senator spent more than 20 years in the Navy, almost a quarter of it in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp. Draft deferments kept Giuliani, 62, of out Vietnam while he attended law school. In 1968, as the Vietnam War was escalating, he was classified 1-A, or draft eligible. After going to work for a federal judge, he received an occupational deferment. He was classified 1-A again in 1970, but had a high lottery number. Another Republican, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, received student deferments. He was available for service in 1969, but was reclassified in 1970 because of stress-related anxiety. Congress has also seen a drain in the number of members with military experience. Even if a military background isn't essential to voters, a sense that a candidate can handle the role of commander in chief remains important to most Americans. http://story.news.ask.com//article/20070409/D8OCUS2G1.html