[DeltAlum]

How about a little perspective.

Not many men really wanted to get drafted.

Men who were in college -- in good standing -- were entitled to deferment(s) until they finished. Both Clinton and Cheney took advantage of that.

Early in the war, men who were married with children were entitled to deferments. Cheney took advantage of that, also.

Other ways to keep from being drafted were to join one of the active branches of the military or the National Guard or Reserve. There were only so many slots available until they reached their authorized strength. There were long waiting lists. Bush apparantely used his family influence to get one of those slots. Frankly, a lot of guys did that, too.

Kerry, of course, served in the Navy with some distinction.

Nobody broke any laws. You can make your own decision about each, but to me Kerry took the high road -- the rest played the game like millions of other young men of my generation.

In the overall scope of things, it was a non-issue until each party decided to try to exploit it one way or the other. It appears that both have tried to back off because it was going nowhere.

ETA an updated joke from a few years ago: What's the difference between Jane Fonda and (take your pick, Dan Quale, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney)?

Answer: Jane Fonda's been to Vietnam.