Clinton’s Military Problem

ITEM: Venturing forth for the first time as Commander-in-Chief, Bill Clinton visits the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt. The troops give their new boss the cold shoulder. “An undercurrent of mockery . . . pervaded the ship,” noted the Washington Post, recording the prevalence of “Hillary jokes and Chelsea jokes.” Nor was it simply brash 19-year-olds sounding off to reporters. It was a career officer who said: “Maybe we can call this his military service,” referring to Clinton’s brief visit. “Three hours is more than he had before.”

Item: In the White House, a Clinton staffer snubs a highly decorated general, sniffing that she doesn’t “speak to people in uniform.” Desk-bound warriors in the Pentagon lose no time in leaking the incident as prima facie evidence of a pervasive Clintonite animus toward the military. The Administration reinforces perceptions of the incident’s significance by inviting the aggrieved general to join the smiling First Jogger on his morning jaunt.

AJ

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Andrew J. Bacevich

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Department of Defense

ITEM: Venturing forth for the first time as Commander-in-Chief, Bill Clinton visits the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt. The troops give their new boss the cold shoulder. “An undercurrent of mockery . . . pervaded the ship,” noted the Washington Post, recording the prevalence of “Hillary jokes and Chelsea jokes.” Nor was it simply brash 19-year-olds sounding off to reporters. It was a career officer who said: “Maybe we can call this his military service,” referring to Clinton’s brief visit. “Three hours is more than he had before.”

Item: In the White House, a Clinton staffer snubs a highly decorated general, sniffing that she doesn’t “speak to people in uniform.” Desk-bound warriors in the Pentagon lose no time in leaking the incident as prima facie evidence of a pervasive Clintonite animus toward the military. The Administration reinforces perceptions of the incident’s significance by inviting the aggrieved general to join the smiling First Jogger on his morning jaunt.