This is just disgusting. I thought it was a joke, but apparently KB Toys is actually carrying an action figure portraying W as a real naval aviator. OK, so he was a pilot briefly in the Air National Guard, but that didn’t last long, as many sources have reported that he skipped most of his time, at the very least as a “pampered rich kid who took advantage,” and at the very worst as someone who went AWOL. That incident aside, this action figure is most directly influenced by W’s recent elaborately staged (and very expensive) landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln from an S-3B Viking. I almost object to this more than I do his shifty service record, because in staging a farcical, jingoistic charade he not only exploited the conflict in Iraq to a political end but he also wasted millions in taxpayer dollars. If he really needed to make an appearance on the Lincoln (which is questionable to begin with), he could have easily taken a quick helicopter ride, but I think it’s quite obvious that he wouldn’t have had nearly as good of a photo op if he had chosen that route…
Update: Check out the Flash movie “Top Gun?” for a more detailed look at W’s less-than-stellar military record, and see some more rants at MetaFilter. :-p
