An earlier reader took issue with this Moore Award, given to Lawrence O'Donnell for his interview of Herman Cain. Another reader follows up:
What was appalling about the Lawrence O'Donnell interview was not the substance of the questions, but the tone. If you want to ask Cain about his perspective on the Civil Rights Movement and why he did or did not do certain things, fine. But shouting at a African American about his failure to stand up while his fellow African Americans were "MURDERED" outside his window is not a question, it's an attack. And a pretty disgusting one.
And that wasn't even the end of it. O'Donnell went on to shout at Cain some more for not fighting in Vietnam … even though Cain served his country during the war by working for the Navy as mathematician (… apparently that doesn't count?). I don't think you can truly appreciate just how gross it all was unless you actually watch the tape. It honestly made me sick.
Another turns the tables:
I teach a course on the Vietnam War at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I am a graduate student. In addition to my scholarly interest in the Vietnam War, I am a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War. Two of my three colleagues on the teaching team for the Vietnam course are vets – one a Vietnam veteran, the other a Marine Corps veteran who served in the Eighties.
When I watched O'Donnell's interview with Cain, I was struck by a statement which seems to have become lost in wake of O'Donnell's breathtaking display of white privilege in hectoring Cain about the degree and nature of Cain's involvement with the Civil Rights Movement. O'Donnell raised a question about Cain's draft status during Vietnam, asking about Cain's deferment and why Cain chose not to volunteer for service in Vietnam. Cain stated that he worked in a civilian capacity for the Navy, work for which his draft board gave him a deferment. Following his completion of an Masters in computer science in 1971, Cain left his job with the Navy, after which he maintains that he made himself available for the draft, which by then had shifted to a lottery system.
Unsatisfied with Cain's explanation, O'Donnell excoriated him, stating "I am offended on behalf of all the veterans of the Vietnam War who joined, Mr. Cain. The veterans who did not wait to be drafted, like John Kerry, who joined. They didn't sit there and wait to find out what their draft board was going to do. They had the courage to join, and to go, and to fight that war. What prevented you from joining? And what gives you the feeling, after having made that choice, you should be the Commander in Chief?"
Though I have no interest in Cain as a candidate for office, this sent my eyebrows rocketing. A quick check of Wikipedia (presumably reliable in at least this regard) shows O'Donnell's birthdate as 07 Nov 1951. According to the Selective Service System, O'Donnell's birthdate corresponds with a draft number of 72. The highest number called in the draft lottery the year O'Donnell became eligible was 125, meaning O'Donnell would have been obligated to report for classification for eligibility for military service. However, neither Wikipedia or O'Donnell's MSNBC bio indicate he served.
Thus, my question is: What was O'Donnell's classification, and where does he get off being offended on behalf of veterans if he himself never did a tour in Vietnam, let alone wore the uniform? I know I'm not the only veteran sensitive to civilians who never served wrapping themselves in the cloak and bandages of our service for personal political benefit.
The Dish 