Top Gun Shot Down

At least Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham didn't enlist his colleagues to punch back, blame the media, recruit surrogates for cozy testimonials, put the institution through a long costly trial...

He's gone, as he should be. And, he's going to jail, as he should.

But, I was in his office the day he was sworn in - the guest of a buddy who was starting as Duke's new Legislative Director.

It is tradition for Members to host an office reception upon coming to Capitol Hill and I was eager to meet a real life war hero.

So this dereliction to his Oath of Office is so disappointing.

Guess President Eisenhower was right:

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist

The political obit of Duke Cunningham

...Cunningham said he had asked his lawyers to notify U.S. Attorney Carol Lam of his intention to plead guilty so that he could begin serving his prison term.

"The citizens who elected Mr. Cunningham assumed that he would do his best for them," Lam said in a statement. "Instead, he did the worst thing an elected official can do -- he enriched himself through his position, and violated the trust of those who put him there."

...Cunningham, a member of the intelligence committee and the Appropriations subcommittee on defense, sold his home to Wade in November 2003 for $1,675,000. Wade then sold the home eight months later for $975,000 for a loss of $700,000.

The transaction sparked an FBI investigation into the relationship between Cunningham and Wade.

News reports subsequently revealed that Cunningham had been living rent-free in Washington, DC, on a 42-foot yacht named the Duke Stir that was owned by Wade. MZM received approximately $40 million in government contracts in 2003.

Hard to believe this is the same guy:

In 1966, at the age of 25, Cunningham joined the U.S. Navy and became one of the most highly decorated pilots in the Vietnam War. As the first fighter ace of the war, Cunningham was nominated for the Medal of Honor, received the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, fifteen Air Medals, the Purple Heart, and several other decorations.

Duke's experience in Vietnam and his background as an educator prepared him well to train fighter pilots at the Navy Fighter Weapons School -- the famed "Top Gun" program at Miramar Naval Air Station. As Commanding Officer of the elite Navy Adversary Squadron, Cunningham flew Russian tactics and formations against America's best combat fighter pilots. Many of his real-life experiences as a Navy aviator and fighter pilot instructor were depicted in the popular movie "Top Gun."