Denny Hastert Chickenhawk

IRAQ – MCCAIN'S HONOR: House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) had the audacity yesterday to lecture Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on sacrifice and war. McCain, remember, is a former POW who graduated from the Naval Academy, served his country in Vietnam and was held for five years in a North Vietnamese prison. Yesterday, he chastised his fellow Republicans for pushing tax cuts for the rich while U.S. troops are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Throughout our history, wartime has been a time of sacrifice. ... What have we sacrificed?" said McCain, who also was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. "I don't remember ever in the history of warfare when we cut taxes." Asked about McCain's remarks, Hastert replied: "If you want to see sacrifice, John McCain ought to visit our young men and women at Walter Reed and Bethesda [military hospitals]. There's the sacrifice in this country. We're trying to make sure that they have the ability to fight this war, that they have the wherewithal to be able to do it. And at the same time, we have to react to keep this country strong not only militarily but economically. We want to be able to have the flexibility to do it. That's my reply to John McCain." Where was Hastert during the Vietnam war? He was rejected for military service because of a bad shoulder.