Today’s Wall Street Journal has a review of two new books on former Republican congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham.
The books make the point that Cunningham, aside from his status as a Vietnam War hero for his exploits as a fighter pilot, had no qualifications for office. No apparent philosophy of government. He just liked being somebody “important” and since he lived in a Republican area, sought election as a Republican. Cunningham squeezed as much personal benefit as he could out of his situation, but went too far, got caught, and is now doing time in the slammer.
The sad truth is that, except for the part about getting caught and doing time, Cunningham’s case is pretty ordinary among politicians.
