In a speech in 2008, The New York Times reports, he said, "We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam." At another point in 2008, the Times reports, he informed an audience that he "served during the Vietnam era," concluding that he remembered "the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse." As recently as a few weeks ago, he publicly recalled being spit upon when he "returned from Vietnam."
Now his campaign for the United States Senate is in grave jeopardy. Perhaps it all could have been avoided if years back the press had taken a look at his claims, reported them and chastened him from making the increasingly bold assertions of nonsense.
As an addendum to the Taranto Principle, let me add an observation. Increasing numbers of candidates for public office, particularly at the national level, seem given to fantasy. They are encouraged to tell dramatic stories about themselves. The press loves it. The politicians are goaded by the Taranto Principle, and it is not long before those stories become total fantasies. Blumenthal is obviously one of those fantasists. Had he not been tripped up this week, he might have soon been telling the electorate about his Medal of Honor. Possibly, if he somehow manages to win the Democratic primary, he still will, and then, when the stakes are so high and the possibility exists that a Republican might beat him, will the Times raise doubts about his Medal of Honor? Taranto will be watching.