funny how posts get a life of my own. My crack was about military service, that killing people at a distance somehow makes you less of a warrior, or that serving at all is ignoble.

I guess you could add in as disgraced Presidents, Truman (I think he was in artillery, WW1), Eisenhower (staff guy his whole career, directing other people to kill the other guy). Grant and most of the late 19th century Presidents get a pass, since the Civil War era killing was largely up close and personal. Ditto for Jackson, Washington, Lincoln (Indian Wars).

As far a Obama is concerned, not being a vet doesn't disqualify him. We are no longer drafting a large percentage of the male population and didn't even do that during the Viet Nam War. The year my number came up in the lottery I think they only got into the 90s (by birthdates so <100 out of 365). This trend of non veteran politicians will continue as the draftees of the 1950s and 1960s leave politics.

What does disqualify a politician from being Commander in Chief is a lack of respect for the military, and a lack of understanding of what our military does. How he responds to issues like this will tell us a great deal about these qualifications (or lack thereof).