Howard Dean - Draft Dodger

Strangely missing from the NYT’s Most-Mailed Stories List (at least at 4 EST today) is this bit about Dean’s draft dodging. He got a deferrment for “his condition. It is aggravated by certain kinds of physical activity but not all kinds, she said. The condition is called spondylolysis, a low-back pain that sometimes radiates into the legs…

Dr. Dean said it was the military’s decision to grant him the deferment, but he also said he was eager to get it. Had he wanted to serve, he probably could have

The condition obviously wasn’t that bad, as Gov. Dean spent the the 10 months after his graduation from Yale, time he might otherwise have spent in uniform, (as) a ski bum in Aspen, Colo. His back condition did not affect his skiing the way the rigors of military service would have, he said, nor did it prevent him from taking odd jobs like pouring concrete in the warm months and washing dishes when it got cold. Yep, skiing is that much easier than humping a pack and carrying a rifle.

There’s even a hint of class warfare in the Times: “It’s one of the real inequities left in the system,” Mr. Tarr said, because young men from wealthier families could afford to pay for tests that might uncover some deferrable medical condition. IMO, one of the biggest reasons against bringing back the draft is potential abuses of the system like Dean’s.

David Brooks could be a sign of new things to come. Is the Old Grey Lady going to give the WSJ a challenge for the readership on the right?

Posted by jank at November 25, 2003 3:05 PM