Why No Blue Blood Will Flow

On the front lines, a disproportionate number of troops hail from minorities and the working class

The nation's capital has always had its share of hawks and doves. But as the possibility of war with Iraq looms ever larger, what powerful figures in official Washington do not have is a direct personal stake in the fate of the troops. No one in the President's Cabinet has a child serving in Saudi Arabia. Of the 535 members of Congress, just two -- Democratic Representatives Kika de la Garza of Texas and Jerry Costello of Illinois -- are known to have sons involved in Operation Desert Shield. By comparison, in 1970 there were 74 congressional children serving in Vietnam...

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