Obama Almost Joined the Military (Uh huh)

Well, maybe. Probably not. It seems he lied about it. Anne at Backyard Conservative has a juicy post about this: Barack Obama's claim in an interview with ABC that he considered joining the military after high school doesn't pass the laugh test. Having written two biographies at a fairly young age, you would think Barack Obama would have shared this biographical detail... Yah, you'd think. I had to register for Selective Service in 1973, when I turned 18. I assure you, it is not something you forget. I even remember that "Shirley Hazard" was the authority who signed my card. You don't forget a name like that. But there's Obama, who either has the memory of a may fly or was stretching the truth. Or, you know, lying. Obama recently told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that he considered joining the military after finishing high school. "I had to sign up for selective service when I graduated from High School," he explained. "I actually always thought of the military as an ennobling and you know, honorable option." Obama suggested his decision not to enlist was an issue of timing, not service. "I graduated in 1979. The Vietnam War had come to an end. We weren’t engaged in an active military conflict at that point. And so, it’s not an option that I ever decided to pursue," he said. [Source] NOBODY "had to sign up for selective service" in 1979 because it had been suspended. It was reinstated in 1980, as noted here (emphasis added): Induction authority expired in 1973, but the Selective Service System remained in existence in a "standby" posture to support the all-volunteer force in case an emergency should make it necessary for Congress to authorize a resumption of inductions. Registration was suspended early in 1975 and the Selective Service System entered into a "deep standby" posture. Beginning in late 1979, a series of "revitalization" efforts were begun in an effort to upgrade the System's capability for rapid mobilization in an emergency, and in the summer of 1980 the registration requirement was resumed. [Source] RELATED: Democratic Underground - OBAMA's Selective Service Registration ... Barack Obama Thinks About Military Service Completely Backwards Anti-war Obama says he once considered military career for the combat Mighta Joined If He Coulda Capped Some Cong