It occurred to me that since 1992 when the Baby Boomers hit middle age the country reversed on military service.
Every President from Harry Truman to George Bush Sr. was a veteran. In the five elections from 1992 to 2008, the Loser was a combat veteran: Bush Sr. and Bob Dole were decorated WWII veterans, Gore, Kerry and McCain served in the Vietnam War. President Obama is alone among the post-war Presidents in being too young for the draft.
In one of the ironies of American life, when I was in the Vietnam War-era Army, no one thanked me for my service and rich draft dodgers thought I was a loser for serving. But at that time, the only road to the Presidency was through military service. Even Antiwar Hubert Humphrey was a decorated combat pilot.
When I was in the Iraq War Army in the last decade, many people thanked me for my service, but 60 million people, including millions of veterans he sneered at, voted for a man with five deferments who insulted Prisoners of War.