Blumen(thal) Onion

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is fighting back against a New York Times report that says he falsely stated his military service in Vietnam, saying the newspaper has created an "outrageous distortion" of his comments.

-"We have learned something important since the days I served in Vietnam," Blumenthal, a Democrat, told a veterans group in March 2008, the Times reported.
- The Times reported that Blumenthal has on several occasions left the impression that he served in Vietnam. At a 2003 rally, Blumenthal reportedly told military families gathering to show support for U.S. troops that, "When we returned, we saw nothing like this."
-In 2008, he talked about his service during the "Vietnam era" and said he remembered "the taunts, the insults, sometimes even the physical abuse."

But the Times found that Blumenthal received five deferments from 1965 to 1970 while studying at Harvard and pursuing other educational and career opportunities. He finally landed a spot in the Marine Reserve that nearly guaranteed him that he wouldn't be sent to the war zone.

Blumenthal has acknowledged that he may have misspoken about his military service and said his intention "has always been to be completely clear and accurate and straightforward."

A number of local newspapers in Connecticut have claimed, incorrectly, that Blumenthal served in Vietnam. According to the Times report, Blumenthal did not appear to make an effort to correct those reports.