Vietnam (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Two points here:  Blumenthal must have trained as a lawyer, since he
> is the AG of CT.  It makes the carelessness defense rather doubtful,
> IMO.  As to why would a politician indulge in an easily disprovable
> lie: for the same reasons that animate most of their public life, for
> gain.  Look at our vice president who told such an elaborate lie about
> his own background when running for (was it president?) some years
> ago, that it is astounding that his career survived at all.  I think
> getting into office goes to the head of many, & they begin to think
> they can get away with just about anything.
> AM
>

I doubt any of us could withstand the scrutiny that a major politician,
who speaks extemporaneously dozens (hundreds?) of times a year for
multiple years in public life, gets.

I just had a tape recorded conversation with an insurance claims
adjuster about an accident I was in yesterday.  I was sensitive to and
conscious of any mistakes I might be making, and at the end of the
conversation I still decided that I had misspoke on one point and wanted
to clarify a statement.  I wasn't trying to lie or deceive, I just made
an error.  Forming your thoughts and what you know into sentences that
communicate accurately and unambiguously 100% of the time is not simple
-- if it were, pencils wouldn't need erasers, computers wouldn't need
delete keys, and first drafts would be all anyone ever needed.

Blumenthal has been caught in one factually false statement, and a
couple of others that could go either way.  He has many times stated
directly what was the truth, including once (apparently) in the same
speech.

I don't think he was lying, I think he was sloppy.  Unfortunately for
him, he has chosen a life that means he gets caught and chastised for
doing things that if you or I did them, no one would ever know, and if
they did, it's unlikely they would care beyond five minutes.
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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