On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 06:28:29 GMT, "Red Rider"
wrote:

I have know the guy for over 36 years. I won't say we are good friends, but
whenever we saw each other we said hello. His Naval career was just so-so,
not brilliant but not a disaster either. He probably wouldn't have stayed
around the Navy if he hadn't been an ace.

And that was part of the problem, and has always been. He went through all
the training learning to fly, learning his profession as a fighter pilot,
with everybody telling him how good he was. Telling how special he was to
succeed when so many failed to make the grade. Then he reached the panicle
of success and became an ace, which proved it to him. Somewhere along the
line he began to believe his own legend. Then he is elected to congress,
everything just fell into place for him with little failure. (I guess his
only real setback was the failure of his first marriage). How can you blame
him for believing the BS that everybody fed him. It would take a special
person to maintain a balance with a life like this.

I rejoiced in his success, and I am saddened by his failure. He just proved
that like many of us he has feet of clay.

Well said.

That great American philosopher, Louis L'Amour, once observed, "A ship
doesn't sail on yesterday's wind nor a wheel turn on yesterday's
water."

I'm saddened that a public official soiled his honor by selling his
office. We have WAY too much of that (on both sides of the aisle). We
live in a particularly corrosive politcal environment and this just
makes it worse.

As an aside, one of our local judges just pled guilty to three counts
of extorting money from operators of local driving schools (where you
can go and save yourself some points on your license after some kinds
of tickets). He sacrifced a 27 year judicial carreer for $12,500
(more or less). I've worked in his court for the last 12 years. He
was always professional with me and I don't wish him ill. But he'll
do some time for this, and he ought to. The fact that he was a "good
guy" for most of that time doesn't give him a "free pass."

Bill Kambic
Haras Lucero, Kingston, TN
Mangalarga Marchador: Uma Raça, Uma Paixão