Neo, this should give the Gore camp an idea of how much support they're going to get from the troops this election.
By Thomas E. Ricks
Wednesday, September 13, 2000; Page A27
washingtonpost.com
Several recently retired senior U.S. military officers, including three picked for top slots by President Clinton, plan to endorse George W. Bush for president, former Marine commandant Charles Krulak said yesterday.
"You're about to see a list that will blow your socks off," said Krulak, who himself was named by Clinton to lead the Marine Corps in 1995 and retired a year ago.
Among those who will publicly support Bush, he said, are Adm. Jay Johnson, who stepped down earlier this summer as head of the Navy; Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, who resigned his position as Air Force chief in 1997, and Marine Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, who until he retired recently was head of the Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Mideast.
Those three are especially significant because they were nominated for their top positions by Clinton. Until now most of the retired military officers who have been associated with the Bush campaign have been veterans of the Gulf War, which was overseen by Bush's father, former President George Bush.
In addition, said Krulak, Bush will be endorsed by two other service chiefs who served under Clinton but were picked by the elder Bush: former Air Force chief Gen. Merrill McPeak and former Marine commandant Gen. Carl Mundy.
"For me, it's hard to forget the early impression made [by Clinton] that he and his administration really didn't care" about national security policy, said McPeak, who retired as Air Force chief in 1994.
Krulak, who is co-chairman of a committee of veterans supporting Bush, said the list includes 85 high-ranking veterans. One reason so many recently retired generals signed up, he said, is that they were bothered by comments made by Gen. Henry H. Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that military readiness is good and that "national security is so important it should be above politics." Shelton was responding to criticisms Bush made at the Republican convention last month.
Labor Secretary's Trips Scrutinized
Now, it's Labor Secretary Alexis Herman's turn. The same House committee that has given Education Secretary Richard Riley until Thursday to turn over a mass of records on his official travels Monday asked Herman to do likewise, by the end of next week.
The House Education and the Workforce Committee wants to check whether Riley or Herman have crossed the line into political campaigning when taking jaunts on the government dime. A Labor Department spokeswoman calmly cast the request for nearly four years of travel records as "fairly typical."
"As we always do, we will be helpful and responsive to their request for oversight information," the spokeswoman, Gail Shibley, said. Last month, the Washington Post reported that Riley this year has trekked to swing districts to do education events with 10 House Democrats in competitive races. He made two joint appearances apiece with Rep. Michael Forbes of New York and Rush Holt of New Jersey, Democrats among the truly endangered. A Riley spokesman has insisted education issues and logistics shape the secretary's travel schedule, "not partisan goals." |
