While the hypocrites were whining about Jane Fonda who was doing exactly what the Bible advocates, two egomaniacs, Robert McNamara and Henry Kissinger, were getting America's sons and daughters killed by the thousands. One can only assume that these guys saw this little 110 pound woman as an easier target than either McNamara or Kissinger. I have spent years in and out of Veterans Affairs hospitals. Not once have I heard one of these Vietnam veterans whining about Jane Fonda getting their buddy killed or coming home and someone spiting in their face and calling them a “baby killer” ever mention either of these two political blowflies. This baby killer thing always comes out of the mouths of some guy who was a loser long before he ended up in Vietnam; and you can count on it being something he had only heard of, never experienced.

After spending almost a year in one Vietnam PTSD group and listening to the same crap over and over, I asked one of the better educated members of the group why he was spreading the BS so thick week after week. He said very straight forward, “You already have your 100 percent status. I still have to earn mine.” Then there was the guy I really enjoyed being around who was not only well educated, he was just a very intelligent guy who spent his free time in the hospital reading works by Dreiser and Faulker. I could not believe it when he volunteered to take a series of shock treatments. Why? He said, “I would much rather endure a few shocks than have to fight the California traffic going to and from a job.”

What this all boils down to is that everyone has their reasons for doing things, and seldom are the real reasons given. The old saying “Follow the money” just about sums up the entire situation. Money, however, is not always the only reason. I have money; it is attention I desire. It is the same with these Independent presidential candidates like Perot, Paul, and Nader. They know they are not going to get enough delegates to be elected dog catcher, but they also know that they can use that few seconds in the limelight to accomplish the real goal. Not in a million years could Ralph Nader, as a Republican, cause the Democrats as much pain and suffering as he has as a rogue Independent. Then there is the fact that he would have to be a member of a team if he were a Republican. Guys like Nader and Perot either get the leading role or they simply will not play. These guys might only be king of the Blue Ribbon Beer crowd and the Forrest Gumps, but that does not matter. Being the commander-in-chief of an army of these people is better, at least for them, than having never been a commander-in-chief at all.

Bob Miller Writes