Spin This, Dick

Attempts at damage control are already underway for the disgraced Connecticut Attorney General Richard (Dick) Blumenthal. But there's just no ambiguity here. He says he served in Vietnam and he didn't. Some things you just can't spin, try as hard as you might.

Previewing a campaign event tomorrow, Myers wrote that "Dick has a long record of standing up for veterans. Tomorrow, veterans will be standing up with Dick."

Dick may have a long record, but how will we know those standing up for Dick are actual veterans? Can we get a check of their records, Dick?

Assorted reaction here this morning.

While the Linda McMahon campaign is taking credit for feeding the info to the Times, it's worth noting GOP contender Rob Simmons actually served in Vietnam.

Rob’s public service career began when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1965 as a Private, and spent 19 months in Vietnam where he earned two Bronze Star Medals. Rob continued his military service in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Military Intelligence Officer, retiring as a Colonel in 2003 with over 37 years of active and reserve service.

He is past commander of the 434th Military Intelligence (MI) Detachment New Haven, CT, which won the Reserve Officers Association’s Outstanding Small Unit Award in 1996. In 1998, Rob was recognized by for his contributions to the Military Intelligence Corps with the Knowlton Award for "Integrity, Moral Character, Professional Competence and Selflessness.”

Replacement candidates for Blumenthal are already being mentioned.

A New York Times report Monday night that Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal had lied about serving in Vietnam had pundits and pollsters across the nation speculating about the impact that it will have on an already tough mid-season election for Democrats.

Speculation immediately turned to Northwest Connecticut’s local congressman, 5th District U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, as a possible “replacement” candidate should this revelation be a death blow for the Blumenthal campaign.

An organization called Public Policy Polling tested Murphy against potential Republican nominees Linda McMahon and Rob Simmons in early January. He led both by 7 points, but the organization said the poll basically functioned as “generic Democrat” against McMahon or Simmons since Murphy has “low name recognition” statewide.