"To point out that our military has been overextended, taken for granted, and neglected — that is no criticism of the military," said Cheney, ascribing all recent military successes to the groundwork of Reagan and George Bush Sr. "That is a criticism of a president and a vice president, and the record they have built together." He even came with what Regis Philbin likes to call a lifeline, directing reporters to call Colin Powell if they didn't believe Cheney. (Said a non-strident Powell: "I agree with his view.")
Never mind that military unreadiness — and the alarmist tone Cheney and Bush are sounding on it — is starting to look like about as enticing a campaign issue as that $1.3 trillion tax cut. After a decade of U.S. military successes almost as overwhelming as its economic ones, it's a crisis voters weren't particularly aware of, and a solution they aren't particularly crying for. But never mind that; for Cheney, it sure beats heat over executive pay packages.
And the low-key (make that hardly visible) running mate even got off a good one at the expense of his opposite, who's been making Cheney look like the dud of the slate. "One observer of the military," Cheney said Wednesday, "had this to say last year: 'Our military faces readiness problems,' he cautioned, 'including falling recruitment, and retention in critical skill areas; aging equipment that costs more to keep operating at acceptable levels of reliability; a need for more support services for a force with a high percentage of married personnel; and frequent deployments.' "
"That is a fair summary of the problem," Cheney said, "and it came from Senator Joseph Lieberman."
time.com
I looked at the Gore website, and never saw the figure that TP is talking about, much less a detailed summary of what it comprises. Then I looked at the Time site, and this is the most I found. Maybe I will try to get a copy of Time this weekend. |
