Wedge "Issue" While the allegedly soft on security John Kerry saw combat in Vietnam, the man accusing him of such Dick Cheney, accepted a series of student and family-related draft deferments. In a righteous display of Patriotism Cheney told the Washington Post in 1989 that, "I had other priorities in the '60s than military service." The amazing thing is HOW Dick Cheney acquired other priorities. Salon points out that Cheney's eldest daughter, Elizabeth Cheney, owes her very existence to her father's avoidance of the Vietnam draft. Here is a handy timeline from Slate and the Washington Post, of the consumation of the most fruitful of Cheney's deferments: Aug. 29, 1964: Dick and Lynne Cheney marry. (Ed: Don't think of the Honeymoon...Don't think of the Honeymoon...Don't think of the Honeymoon...) May 19, 1965: The Selective Service classifies Dick Cheney 1-A, "available immediately for military service." July 28, 1965: President Lyndon Johnson says draft calls will be doubled. Oct. 26, 1965: The Selective Service declares that married men without children, who were previously exempted from the draft, will now be called up. Married men with children remain exempt. Jan. 19, 1966: The Selective Service reclassifies Dick Cheney 3-A, "deferred from military service because service would cause hardship upon his family," because his wife is pregnant with their first child. July 28, 1966: Elizabeth Cheney is born. Let's see October 26, 1965 to July 28, 1966. That's NINE MONTHS!! It's unfortunate that our nation was deprived of Cheney's services as a rifleman because obviously, the man doesn't shoot blanks. Elizabeth Cheney, perhaps the second most miraculous conception of all time, certainly among the most convenient.