I could not have said it any better

A change in the complexion of leadership
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Posted 1/2/2009 10:00:00 AM Article :

World War II veterans, who represent the last massive contingent of Americans who have seen the battlefield, are dying at the rate of 1,200 per day. Certainly there are thousands remaining who served with distinction in the Korean War, in Vietnam, in the Persian Gulf and in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the odds of our nation being led by a veteran is diminishing as a prospect. Between 1944 and 1992, prior military service was considered a must for presidential candidates. Those who are old enough to remember Dwight D. Eisenhower recall the euphoria that existed when a conquering war hero came home to lead us in peacetime. Apparently voters no longer consider service in the military to be a high priority - for themselves or for candidates. Vietnam, for the most part, changed all of that. The necessity for military experience ended in 1992 when Bill Clinton defeated President George H. W. Bush, a decorated World War II veteran, and again four years later when he defeated Sen. Bob Dole, another combat veteran. It was repeated again when President George W. Bush defeated Al Gore and John Kerry, both Vietmam veterans, and finally last year when Barack Obama, with no military service, defeated John McCain, who spent over five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp. In the summer of 2007, Reuters reported of the 18 candidates for the 2008 presidential election, only two had experience on the front lines - McCain and Duncan Hunter. Several others served in non-combat roles, but for the most part service experience was limited. In 1970, veterans accounted for 21 percent of the voting population. By the year 2000, that was down to 11 percent and, within two decades, it will be as low as 5 or 6 percent. As we contemplate the toll of our involvement in two faraway countries, neither of which offered a threat to our freedom, it is vital we also remember those Americans who abhor war the most are those who have experienced it firsthand and have been touched by its far-reaching and tragic tentacles. As former President Eisenhower reminded Americans, "Men who have never known war are those who are most eager to send others into combat." Vice President Dick Cheney, who offered much of the energy behind our current engagement, obtained four separate deferments from the draft during the Vietnam War. President Bush served with the Texas Air National Guard. Neither President-elect Obama nor Vice President-elect Joe Biden have any military experience. Several weeks ago, we quoted a World War II veteran who once said America will be the land of the free only so long as it remains the home of the brave.
Perhaps we would add " ... and the wise." We have squandered most of the goodwill we once enjoyed with the international community. We have little support in our efforts to police a world that seems to find us more intrusive than helpful. Our economy is in shambles and we are in the midst of a recession. Unless we quickly focus our attention on the battles at home, our position of power could be undermined, not militarily, but economically and politically. The military heroes, who led this nation and who fought to save the freedom we enjoy, will have sacrificed in vain if we do not maintain our capacity to retain a position of power on the world stage. Stewart Patrick, a former state department official at the Council on Foreign Relations, recently said, "There is no return to the time when the United States was the 'indispensable power.' The world has moved on. We are still a major player, but we are not the captain of the team. This need to collaborate and compromise rather than demand requires more than weapons and sheer strength. It will take new approaches and new solutions."
In the future, we may not always be led by veterans, but we owe them the kind of nation they helped preserve.