Obama on Why He Never Joined the Military

Amanda Carpenter | September 07, 2008 1:30 PM

If Barack Obama was just honest about why he never joined the miltiary it would sound a lot better. This excuse he keeps putting up about not joining because he was never drafted is much worse than just saying "I wanted to be a lawyer."

About a week ago Obama said he never served in the military he wasn't subjected to the draft. “I didn't serve, as many people my age, because the Vietnam war was over by the time I was of draft age and we went to an all-volunteer Army" he's quoted saying by the AP on August 25.

Today on ABC News Obama says he didn't join because the US wasn't fighting a war when he graduated high school. He left off the part about not joining because he wasn't drafted, but it's basically the same message. "You know, I had to sign up for Selective Service when I graduated from high school" Obama said. "And I was growing up in Hawaii, and I have friends whose parents were in the military. There are a lot of Army, military bases there. And I actually always thought of the military as an enobling and, you know, honorable option.But keep in mind — I graduated in 1979. The Vietnam War had come to an end. We weren't engaged in an active military conflict at that point. And so, it's not an option that I ever decided to pursue."