If Cynthia McKinney Had Any...

decency, self-respect, or integrity, she'd resign from Congress. Her conduct during and after that altercation with a Capitol Hill police officer has been beneath contempt. However, I'm guessing that the "cutest little communist in Congress" (as Neal Boortz once described her) will soldier on, hoping the scandal eventually dissipates.

Meanwhile, Victor Davis Hanson recounts a similar incident at the U.S. Naval Academy a few years back. The Academy Superintendent, a three-star Navy admiral, tried to enter the installation without his military ID. A young Marine guard--doing his job--refused. There was an altercation. The admiral subsequently admitted that he might have touched the guard. A subsequent investigation cleared the Marine. The admiral resigned his post, and retired from the service.

That incident reminds me of an old Air Force story--one that I've never been able to fully verify. While it may be an urban legend, it does provide another example of security personnel doing the right thing, and refusing to be bullied or intimiated by authority.

Back in the 1950s, Strategic Air Command was the largest--and most important--in the Air Force. In the days before ICBMs and SLBMs, SAC's bomber fleet essentially was the nation's strategic nuclear deterrent. General Curtis LeMay was CINCSAC during much of that period, and he set exacting standards. The promote performance, LeMay even had the authority to hand out spot promotions, elevating (or demoting) anyone in the command by one grade, depending on how they did their jobs.

LeMay was a frequent visitor to SAC bomber and tanker bases. However, he had no patience for waiting for the "gate guard" to check his ID, and usher him onto the base. If LeMay was driving to a SAC base, arrangements were made in advance to recognize the car and wave him through.

However, during one base visit, the system fell through. LeMay was driving in from another SAC installation in a blue Air Force staff car, but the sentry at the main gate was never notified. The young security policeman had been trained to stop any unauthorized entries to the base; when the staff car whizzed by a 50 mph, he followed his training. He yelled "Halt" and when the car failed to stop, he drew his pistol and opened fire. The first shot shattered the rear window; the second punctured a tire and disabled the car.

When the base commander and the chief of security police squadron arrived on the scene, the young "skycop" had both LeMay and his driver face down on the ground, threatening to shoot them if they moved. After a little explaining, the general was allowed to proceed, but not before he gave the sentry a spot promotion for doing his job, while demoting the commander of the security police squadron, for failing to do his.

Here's hoping the good people of Georgia decided to "demote" Cynthia McKinney this fall.