Top Gun CUNNINGHAM: I broke the law, concealed my conduct and disgraced my office.

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0603/04/cst.02.html
WHITFIELD: The Democrat who delivered the address is Francine Busby,
the party's candidate to replace former Republican Congressman, Randy
"Duke" Cunningham of California.

Cunningham is now serving a federal prison term for bribery. The San
Diego Republican was sentenced yesterday to eight years and four
months for taking bribes from at least three defense contractors.

CNN's chief national correspondent, John King, takes a closer look at
Cunningham's career and his fall from power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Randy Cunningham and high
risk have been partners a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His name is Randy "Duke" Cunningham, and he is a
legend of air power.

KING: The Vietnam ace whose daring exploits were an inspiration for
Maverick in Hollywood's "Top Gun."

VAL KILMER, ACTOR: I don't like you because you're dangerous.

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: That's right, Iceman. I am dangerous.

KING: And from famous war hero, Cunningham parachuted into a seemingly
less risky business: politics.

RANDY "DUKE" CUNNINGHAM (R), FORMER CALIFORNIA REPRESENTATIVE: Duke
Cunningham, running for U.S. Congress.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Duke Cunningham will be a congressman we can be
proud of.

KING: Now 16 years after that first campaign, San Diego Congressman
Duke Cunningham's exploits are once again the stuff of Hollywood.

CUNNINGHAM: I broke the law, concealed my conduct and disgraced my
office.

KING: His corruption is stunning in its scope and in its sheer
audacity: $2.4 million in bribes, at least. Private jets for resort
getaways. A California mansion. A Rolls Royce. A lifestyle well beyond
his means and a thirst for more.

That appetite, longtime friends like Charles Nesby say, perhaps were
some of the traits that made Duke Cunningham a successful ace.
Cockiness.

CAPT. CHARLES NESBY, CUNNINGHAM FRIEND: That's the nature of the beast
in all of us that are fighter pilots. You're naturally aggressive.

KING: Naked avarice is what prosecutors call it.

And look at this. Cunningham actually scribbled this bribe menu on his
congressional notepad. Want a $16 million contract? The cost is a
boat, "BT" for short, worth $140,000. Add in another $50,000 for each
additional million dollars in contracts.

NORMAN ORNSTEIN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: What Cunningham did is
breathtaking.

KING: Norman Ornstein has been studying Congress for 30 years and says
there has been nothing like this before.

ORNSTEIN: This is somebody who set out to live a lavish lifestyle by
making sure he could shake down contractors, lobbyists and interest
groups.

KING: Thousands of dollars in meals, at the Capital Grille and other
pricey Washington restaurants, Cunningham's tab picked up by defense
contractors.

Private jets, again, paid for by contractors, to whisk the congressman
around the country.

Then trendy Delano Hotel on Miami's South Beach was one destination
two years ago: $1,254 for the room, $848 for Cunningham's meals at the
hotel. Nearly $13,000 for the chartered jet.

Cunningham grew to expect luxury, the prosecution memo says. His
co-conspirators eagerly plied him with it.

He was, after all, on the House Appropriations Committee, a leading
voice on its defense subcommittee, able to enter multimillion dollar
favors into the Pentagon and other budgets.

His Navy days gave him standing on military matters, and stories via
the big screen.

CUNNINGHAM: I met my wife by singing, "You Lost That Loving Feeling"
to her at the Miramar officer's club.

KING (on camera): Perhaps they should have raised questions, some
friends say, when a congressman with a $165,000 a year salary bought a
penthouse condominium here just outside Washington, in addition to the
pricey home he owned in southern California.

(voice-over) The condo came courtesy of a defense contractors'
$200,000 down payment. Inside, tens of thousands of dollars worth of
antiques the congressman demanded in exchange for favors, all now in a
warehouse awaiting government auction.

This is the boat from the bribe menu, The Duke-Stir, a flashy exhibit
of Cunningham's lifestyle. Real estate records like these, the more
mundane evidence that would begin his fall from grace.

November, 2003, Cunningham sold his home in Del Mar to a defense
contractor for nearly $1.7 million. The contractor lost $700,000 when
he resold it. That caught the eye of a Copley News Service reporter,
and then that caught the eye of the feds. What they found is eye
popping.

NESBY: It's the power, and then some people handle the power
correctly. Other people, the power can be misused. Duke lost his moral
compass.

KING: Nesby is one of 40 Cunningham friends and family members who
wrote the judge, appealing for leniency. In his letter, Nesby recalled
the white naval officer who took a risk, standing up for a young black
pilot.

NESBY: It was not popular for him to do that, but I appreciated it.
What he did, he leveled the playing field and allowed me to compete
and gave me what I deserved. And I'll always love him for that.

KING: In his note to the judge, Cunningham wrote, "It all started very
slowly and innocently," that he's sorry, worried about dying in
prison. But "I will accept your sentence without complaint."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Randy "Duke" Cunningham will be remembered as an
educator, a legislator, but most of all, as a legend of air power.

KING: A career that is the stuff of Hollywood. Then...

CUNNINGHAM: In my life I have had great joy and great sorrow. And now
I have great shame.

KING: ... and now.

John king, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

"Duke" Cunningham is living proof that a profoundly stupid man can be a
fighter pilot and get elected to high office.

That's news?

"Dan Luke" wrote in
:

"Duke" Cunningham is living proof that a profoundly stupid man can be a
fighter pilot and get elected to high office.

That's news?

And its equal opportunity stupidity. Look at Buh'wheat McKinney
and Marxine Waters.

IBM

On Sat, 08 Jul 2006 10:17:40 -0500, Ian MacLure wrote
in ::

"Dan Luke" wrote in
:

"Duke" Cunningham is living proof that a profoundly stupid man can be a
fighter pilot and get elected to high office.

That's news?

And its equal opportunity stupidity. Look at Buh'wheat McKinney
and Marxine Waters.

IBM

Were McKinney and Waters revered former Top Gun aces who toured the US
as heroes and as shining examples of military can-do also? I had no
idea. :-)

Larry Dighera wrote in
:

On Sat, 08 Jul 2006 10:17:40 -0500, Ian MacLure wrote
in ::

"Dan Luke" wrote in
:

"Duke" Cunningham is living proof that a profoundly stupid man can be a
fighter pilot and get elected to high office.

That's news?

And its equal opportunity stupidity. Look at Buh'wheat McKinney
and Marxine Waters.

IBM

Were McKinney and Waters revered former Top Gun aces who toured the US
as heroes and as shining examples of military can-do also? I had no
idea. :-)

Don't know about the pilot bit but they are clearly cruising above
FL450 on something.

IBM

Larry Dighera wrote:
On Sat, 08 Jul 2006 10:17:40 -0500, Ian MacLure wrote
in ::

"Dan Luke" wrote in
:

"Duke" Cunningham is living proof that a profoundly stupid man can be a
fighter pilot and get elected to high office.

That's news?

And its equal opportunity stupidity. Look at Buh'wheat McKinney
and Marxine Waters.

IBM

Were McKinney and Waters revered former Top Gun aces who toured the US
as heroes and as shining examples of military can-do also? I had no
idea. :-)

Okay, let's set the record straight - Duke hasn't been revered as a
shining hero for years. While he's earned his place in fighter-driver
Valhalla, no word of the man that I've seen or heard in the past ten
years excludes his more recent escapades - Capitol Hill loudmouth,
self-righteous Republican, congressional-floor bully. I'm still amazed
that a guy whose behavior practically screams for attack managed to
conduct so much misconduct. The old "living in glass houses" warning
doesn't begin to cut it. Duke's legendary status came about decades
ago, and from a war that will likely remain one we'd like to put behind
us, and from what I've read, was a shining moment in what was gradually
becoming a non-starter of a career. In short, it's time to give the
whole "Fallen 'Top Gun'" tag a rest.

On Fri, 7 Jul 2006 18:56:52 -0500, "Dan Luke"
wrote:


"Duke" Cunningham is living proof that a profoundly stupid man can be a
fighter pilot and get elected to high office.

That's news?

Lemme see, is that a reference to the incumbent president? The one who
spent three times as long in military service and qualified to fly
single-seat, single-engine jets? The one with the Yale degree and the
Harvard MBA?

Or, is that somehow implying that flying military fighters is a simple
task? In combat?

I've encountered some unsophisticated tactical aviators along the way,
and even some folks populating fighter cockpits who were in no way,
shape or form, qualified to carry the title, Fighter Pilot. But I
don't know a single one that I would characterize as "profoundly
stupid".

You got any experience in that line?


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

Ed Rasimus wrote:

Lemme see, is that a reference to the incumbent president?


DUH !!

The one who
spent three times as long in military service and qualified to fly
single-seat, single-engine jets?

Yeah, much of it in absentia (stateside no less), and who didn't show
for a flight physical for unexplained reasons.

The one with the Yale degree and the
Harvard MBA?

A legacy.

Or, is that somehow implying that flying military fighters is a simple
task? In combat?

Not saying it is simple, but it's not rocket science, either. He never
flew in combat...never even saw combat...never went to Nam (unlike his
last opponent).


I've encountered some unsophisticated tactical aviators along the way,
and even some folks populating fighter cockpits who were in no way,
shape or form, qualified to carry the title, Fighter Pilot.

I didn't know you'd met W.

But I
don't know a single one that I would characterize as "profoundly
stupid".

You got any experience in that line?

No. Unlike you, I don't have any experience being profoundly stupid.

On 8 Jul 2006 10:31:26 -0700, "
wrote:


Ed Rasimus wrote:

Lemme see, is that a reference to the incumbent president?


DUH !!

The one who
spent three times as long in military service and qualified to fly
single-seat, single-engine jets?

Yeah, much of it in absentia (stateside no less), and who didn't show
for a flight physical for unexplained reasons.

You might want to look beyond the media talking points. Even ANG
pilots are full time active duty for all of their UPT and operational
training. They then qualify for mission-ready in their unit of
assignment. GWB handled all of that for nearly five years.

The flight physical issue is a red herring. His TX unit was
re-equipping with a different aircraft and a different mission. He
wasn't flying when he got attached to the Montgomery ANG unit which
was also transitioning from RF-84 to RF-4C and had NEITHER TYPE in
place at the period in question. In other words, no flying
opportunity, no requirement for a flight physical.

The one with the Yale degree and the
Harvard MBA?

A legacy.

Undergraduate admission is unquestionably a legacy issue. At Yale,
Bush got about the same grades as Kerry. No problem. But, Harvard
doesn't issue MBA's on legacy credentials.

Or, is that somehow implying that flying military fighters is a simple
task? In combat?

Not saying it is simple, but it's not rocket science, either. He never
flew in combat...never even saw combat...never went to Nam (unlike his
last opponent).

No, he didn't go to Vietnam. At the time he went to UPT, the F-102
(from various ANG units) WAS being rotated through SEA and the
possibility for assignment existed. By the time he was operationally
ready, the aircraft was no longer being used in the limited mission it
had in SEA. Somehow, not even I can tell what is going to be a
situation two or more years in advance during a war.


I've encountered some unsophisticated tactical aviators along the way,
and even some folks populating fighter cockpits who were in no way,
shape or form, qualified to carry the title, Fighter Pilot.

I didn't know you'd met W.

I haven't met him, but I'm a close friend of the guy who was GWB's
T-38 Instructor Pilot at in UPT. The guy flew F-105s with me as a 1/Lt
and we both went into the training business after our 100 missions
tours. He testifies to GWB's capabilities in the fighter business and
I've no reason to doubt him. He's been to the White House twice in the
last three years on personal visits.

But I
don't know a single one that I would characterize as "profoundly
stupid".

You got any experience in that line?

No. Unlike you, I don't have any experience being profoundly stupid.

We might get some objective evaluators here in the news group to
validate that now. I think you don't give your experience enough
credit.



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

On Sat, 08 Jul 2006 18:06:14 GMT, Ed Rasimus
wrote:


No. Unlike you, I don't have any experience being profoundly stupid.

We might get some objective evaluators here in the news group to
validate that now. I think you don't give your experience enough
credit.


Oh, that's gotta hurt.
--
If you want venality, if you want ignorance, if you want drunkenness,
and facility for being intimidated; or if, on the other hand, you
want impulsive, unreflecting, and violent people, where do you look
Do you go to the top or to the bottom?