Originally posted by Sundancer7

Personally I regard Cheney as a patriot. I know that many of you do not and that is your opinion. I think the guy gave up a great job just to assist at far less money. I realize that he was extremely wealthy but I sincerely believe the best interst in the USA is in his heart.

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Paul–I’m just curious about something here. Does your view of him as "a patriot" include the fact that he received an unusually large number of draft deferments back during the Vietnam Era? (While I hesitate to come up with a specific number, if my memory serves me correctly, I believe that he received draft deferments seven times.)

When questioned years later about his lack of service in the military, his response was, "I had other priorities". I am quite sure that the thousands of guys who perished in the Vietnam War had other priorities too, but they didn’t have the connections to be deferred, as he was. Or, perhaps, they were patriots in the true sense.

Speaking from my own experience, as a teacher, I received two deferrments. Then, the deferrments were no longer available, and I was called for my physical exam. If not for high blood pressure, I would have been required to serve, as did my brother and ten of thousands of others. Somehow, this "patriot" managed to finesse the system so that he was never even called for a physical exam. And, years later, he became one of the chief architects (along with Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld who also failed to serve) of our present war.

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion in our society, so I respect your opinion. However, I strongly disagree with your characterization of this man as a patriot. Based on his record with the Draft Board, with Halliburton, and now as the V.P., perhaps opportunist might be a better characterization of Mr. Cheney.