I understand that he was an ace and in a significant dogfight but after what happen to Duke Cunningham and the embarassment and corrupt attitude he displayed in being convicted of crimes (for which he will likely go to jail) I think it very bad form to show him on the air.

The actions of a man after his military service should not detract from a feat of personal courage and skill while serving. As an ace over Vietnam, he proved himself.

All the more reason to find his conduct reprehensible! He initially set a standard and once he gained the spotlight and admiration of America he was responsible for upholding that standard. Enough with the whiny excuses for bad/criminal behavior, America. Our politicions are seen as an example of all americans. How do you want to be viewed by the world????

Before I forget, What happened to " DUTY< HONOR< COUNTRY"????

I'm not sure what your point is. My point was that his actions as a Navy pilot stand by themselves. His actions as a politician stand by themselves. He'll be prosecuted and probably jailed, and he's disgraced himself, but that still makes him an ace over Vietnam and a military hero.

I'm an Australian, so I don't really have an opinion on how Americans want to be viewed 8)

Question: how many ahhh sh--s does it take to wipe out one atta-boy??????????????

His conduct is reprehensible, but we cannot ignore his place in history because of it! Acknowledging the fact that he was an ace in Vietnam is not condoning criminal behavior that occurred almost 40 years latter. I am sure that if we “deleted” every alcoholic, drug addict, and questionable politician from the history books it would make for a short history class but would we be better off for it?

And due to the fact that back door negotiations, underhanded deals and outright extortion is standard practice in most of the rest of the “world”, I would not be so quick to worry about what they think about one of our politicians.

It just depends what you think makes a pinivle point in history. Cunningham stood as an ace, and a top gun gred. What the man did after is insegnificant in the view of what he did before. He may just have been a man built for a singular importance, afterall the best fighter aces often were less than acceptable mambers of society in general, it is this edge that may have made him great earlier.