Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal had the upper hand in the race for the U.S. Senate seat that incumbent Christopher Dodd is vacating. But questions about his military service during the Vietnam War have complicated the political picture and the New York Times deserves credit for focusing attention on explanations that do not appear to square with the facts.
Contrary to the public image that was so carefully crafted and deceitfully sold, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal did not serve nobly overseas in Vietnam. In fact, he successfully sought several deferments. Blumenthal is not the only public figure who has been tripped up by a questionable military record. But now that he is running for U.S. Senate, Blumenthal’s public statements have come under more scrutiny and the New York Times deserves for a hard-hitting, detailed front page piece that gives no quarter.
The reporter, Raymond Hernandez, should also be credited for carefully researching previous news reports that covered some of the statements made by the attorney general. Although Blumenthal claims that he always strived for accuracy in his comments about Vietnam, Hernandez very adeptly lays out the historical record so readers can judge for themselves.
He raises legitimate questions without interjecting himself in the report. It is also important to note that Blumenthal was interviewed for this piece and his quoted at some length. This enhances the credibility of the investigation because the subject is permitted to make his case and offer an explanation.
“My intention has always been to be completely clear and accurate and straightforward, out of respect to the veterans who served in Vietnam,” Blumenthal is quoted as saying. The reporter then follows up with a series of observations that give good cause for doubt.
Here is how Hernandez transitions from the interview:
“But an examination of his remarks at the ceremonies shows that he does not volunteer that his service never took him overseas. And he describes the hostile reaction directed at veterans coming back from Vietnam, intimating that he was among them.” The investigation includes public statements and public addresses that range from 2003 up until the present time. There is no editorializing here; just solid, informative reporting that does a great service to the readership.
It’s quite evident that Times has Blumenthal’s number and will not allow for any slick salesmanship to beguile and mislead the audience.
“Mr. Blumenthal, 64, is known as a brilliant lawyer who likes to argue cases in court and uses language with power and precision,” the report says. “He is also savvy about the news media and attentive to how he is portrayed in the press.”
“But the way he speaks about his military service has led to confusion and frequent mischaracterizations of his biography in his home state newspapers,” the report continues. “In at least eight newspaper articles published in Connecticut from 2003 to 2009, he is described as having served in Vietnam.”
To be sure Blumenthal is not alone among the political class in having to field awkward questions about his military record. But he is somewhat unique in that went to great lengths it appears to sidestep actual combat, as The Times points out.
“But what is striking about Mr. Blumenthal’s record is the contrast between the many steps he took that allowed him to avoid Vietnam, and the misleading way he often speaks about that period of his life now, especially when he is speaking at veterans’ ceremonies or other patriotic events,” the report observes. “Sometimes his remarks have been plainly untrue, as in his speech to the group in Norwalk. At other times, he has used more ambiguous language, but the impression left on audiences can be similar.”
The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Connecticut is comes across here as a highly duplicitous, well-connected, opportunistic political operator not because of any inherent bias on the part of the reporter, but because the record is laid out.
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