John Edwards: Flip-flopper extraordinaire

I swear, the hits just keep comin’ from this guy. Let’s take a short trip back in time, to review comments made by the former Senator from NC on the idea of a military draft (blogged about originally in this post):

Edwards also called Monday for spreading the burden of serving the country by mandating national service.

“One of the things we ought to be thinking about is some level of mandatory service to our country, so that everybody in America — not just the poor kids who get sent to war — are serving this country” he said.

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After the event, Edwards said he had not meant to imply that only the poor go to war, only that everyone should serve in some way.

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“We have people from all walks of life in America who are serving, including Reservists and National Guard” he said. “What we want to do is to have all Americans to have a chance to serve their country.”

That was in May. This is August:

“Now, instead of ending this war and doing what is right for our troops, their families and the nation, President Bush is floating the idea of a draft that would send more young Americans to Iraq,” he added. “Enough is enough. Let there be no doubt that the Bush Administration’s new talk of a draft is a profound measure of how much this president has failed our brave men and women in the military, and the American people.”

That was in response to a comment made by Bush’s new ‘war czar’ on the idea of reinstating the draft:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush’s new war adviser said Friday.

“I think it makes sense to certainly consider it,” Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

“And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation’s security by one means or another,” said Lute, who is sometimes referred to as the “Iraq war czar.” It was his first interview since he was confirmed by the Senate in June.

The United States ended the draft in 1973. Restoring it, Lute said, would be a “major policy shift” and Bush has made it clear that he doesn’t think it’s necessary.

In other words, the war czar made it clear that it wasn’t President Bush’s desire nor intent to bring back the draft.

More:

“The president’s position is that the all-volunteer military meets the needs of the country and there is no discussion of a draft. Gen. Lute made that point as well,” National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

In the interview, Lute also said that “Today, the current means of the all-volunteer force is serving us exceptionally well.”

The President isn’t floating around the idea of reinstating the draft. It’s simply not going to happen. But leave it to Edwards (and Hillary Clinton and Obama, among others) who twisted the words of Lute, who was merely describing an option that has ‘always’ been on the table for Commanders in Chief in a time of war, not stating that it was something the President was even remotely considering.

In fact, the only people seriously floating around the idea of reinstating the draft are Democrats like Charlie Rangel and John Murtha. And John Edwards (well, he was a few months ago, anyway) – all because they think only the poor and stupid are serving (which, BTW, isn’t true). Oh, and take special note of all the outcry coming from the usual suspects. Where were they when Murtha and Rangel – and Edwards – were calling for the draft to be reinstated? Were they shivering with fear and loathing then, as well?

If the name Edwards appeared in the dictionary, it would be between the words “demagogue” and “liar.”