Top Gun CUNNINGHAM: I broke the law, concealed my conduct and disgraced my office.

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0603/04/cst.02.html
WHITFIELD: The Democrat who delivered the address is Francine Busby,
the party's candidate to replace former Republican Congressman, Randy
"Duke" Cunningham of California.

Cunningham is now serving a federal prison term for bribery. The San
Diego Republican was sentenced yesterday to eight years and four
months for taking bribes from at least three defense contractors.

CNN's chief national correspondent, John King, takes a closer look at
Cunningham's career and his fall from power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Randy Cunningham and high
risk have been partners a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His name is Randy "Duke" Cunningham, and he is a
legend of air power.

KING: The Vietnam ace whose daring exploits were an inspiration for
Maverick in Hollywood's "Top Gun."

VAL KILMER, ACTOR: I don't like you because you're dangerous.

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: That's right, Iceman. I am dangerous.

KING: And from famous war hero, Cunningham parachuted into a seemingly
less risky business: politics.

RANDY "DUKE" CUNNINGHAM (R), FORMER CALIFORNIA REPRESENTATIVE: Duke
Cunningham, running for U.S. Congress.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Duke Cunningham will be a congressman we can be
proud of.

KING: Now 16 years after that first campaign, San Diego Congressman
Duke Cunningham's exploits are once again the stuff of Hollywood.

CUNNINGHAM: I broke the law, concealed my conduct and disgraced my
office.

KING: His corruption is stunning in its scope and in its sheer
audacity: $2.4 million in bribes, at least. Private jets for resort
getaways. A California mansion. A Rolls Royce. A lifestyle well beyond
his means and a thirst for more.

That appetite, longtime friends like Charles Nesby say, perhaps were
some of the traits that made Duke Cunningham a successful ace.
Cockiness.

CAPT. CHARLES NESBY, CUNNINGHAM FRIEND: That's the nature of the beast
in all of us that are fighter pilots. You're naturally aggressive.

KING: Naked avarice is what prosecutors call it.

And look at this. Cunningham actually scribbled this bribe menu on his
congressional notepad. Want a $16 million contract? The cost is a
boat, "BT" for short, worth $140,000. Add in another $50,000 for each
additional million dollars in contracts.

NORMAN ORNSTEIN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: What Cunningham did is
breathtaking.

KING: Norman Ornstein has been studying Congress for 30 years and says
there has been nothing like this before.

ORNSTEIN: This is somebody who set out to live a lavish lifestyle by
making sure he could shake down contractors, lobbyists and interest
groups.

KING: Thousands of dollars in meals, at the Capital Grille and other
pricey Washington restaurants, Cunningham's tab picked up by defense
contractors.

Private jets, again, paid for by contractors, to whisk the congressman
around the country.

Then trendy Delano Hotel on Miami's South Beach was one destination
two years ago: $1,254 for the room, $848 for Cunningham's meals at the
hotel. Nearly $13,000 for the chartered jet.

Cunningham grew to expect luxury, the prosecution memo says. His
co-conspirators eagerly plied him with it.

He was, after all, on the House Appropriations Committee, a leading
voice on its defense subcommittee, able to enter multimillion dollar
favors into the Pentagon and other budgets.

His Navy days gave him standing on military matters, and stories via
the big screen.

CUNNINGHAM: I met my wife by singing, "You Lost That Loving Feeling"
to her at the Miramar officer's club.

KING (on camera): Perhaps they should have raised questions, some
friends say, when a congressman with a $165,000 a year salary bought a
penthouse condominium here just outside Washington, in addition to the
pricey home he owned in southern California.

(voice-over) The condo came courtesy of a defense contractors'
$200,000 down payment. Inside, tens of thousands of dollars worth of
antiques the congressman demanded in exchange for favors, all now in a
warehouse awaiting government auction.

This is the boat from the bribe menu, The Duke-Stir, a flashy exhibit
of Cunningham's lifestyle. Real estate records like these, the more
mundane evidence that would begin his fall from grace.

November, 2003, Cunningham sold his home in Del Mar to a defense
contractor for nearly $1.7 million. The contractor lost $700,000 when
he resold it. That caught the eye of a Copley News Service reporter,
and then that caught the eye of the feds. What they found is eye
popping.

NESBY: It's the power, and then some people handle the power
correctly. Other people, the power can be misused. Duke lost his moral
compass.

KING: Nesby is one of 40 Cunningham friends and family members who
wrote the judge, appealing for leniency. In his letter, Nesby recalled
the white naval officer who took a risk, standing up for a young black
pilot.

NESBY: It was not popular for him to do that, but I appreciated it.
What he did, he leveled the playing field and allowed me to compete
and gave me what I deserved. And I'll always love him for that.

KING: In his note to the judge, Cunningham wrote, "It all started very
slowly and innocently," that he's sorry, worried about dying in
prison. But "I will accept your sentence without complaint."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Randy "Duke" Cunningham will be remembered as an
educator, a legislator, but most of all, as a legend of air power.

KING: A career that is the stuff of Hollywood. Then...

CUNNINGHAM: In my life I have had great joy and great sorrow. And now
I have great shame.

KING: ... and now.

John king, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

"Duke" Cunningham is living proof that a profoundly stupid man can be a
fighter pilot and get elected to high office.

That's news?

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0603/04/cst.02.html

CAPT. CHARLES NESBY, CUNNINGHAM FRIEND: That's the nature of the beast
in all of us that are fighter pilots. You're naturally aggressive.

Bull Crap Nes; you can be aggressive as hell and still remain honest.
Actually, in a twisted way, although aggressiveness is a must in flying high
performance airplanes; honesty is even more important a trait in a fighter
pilot.
An aggressive fighter pilot who is incapable of assessing his own
performance honestly will soon become a dead fighter pilot!

Dudley Henriques
Past President 1971-1985
International Fighter Pilots Association

Cunningham is now serving a federal prison term for bribery. The San
Diego Republican was sentenced yesterday to eight years and four
months for taking bribes from at least three defense contractors.

This whole thing is so sad. Duke Cunningham was always one of my
heroes, and to see him completely fall from grace is stunning. What a
stupid, stupid thing to do.

Just goes to show you that a great fighter pilot doesn't necessarily
make an honest politician, I guess.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

Cunningham is now serving a federal prison term for bribery. The San
Diego Republican was sentenced yesterday to eight years and four
months for taking bribes from at least three defense contractors.


This whole thing is so sad. Duke Cunningham was always one of my
heroes, and to see him completely fall from grace is stunning. What a
stupid, stupid thing to do.

Just goes to show you that a great fighter pilot doesn't necessarily
make an honest politician, I guess.

Is there such a person as an honest politician? I don't think those two
words can appear in the same sentence anymore.


Matt

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Jay Honeck wrote:

Cunningham is now serving a federal prison term for bribery. The San
Diego Republican was sentenced yesterday to eight years and four
months for taking bribes from at least three defense contractors.


This whole thing is so sad. Duke Cunningham was always one of my
heroes, and to see him completely fall from grace is stunning. What a
stupid, stupid thing to do.

Just goes to show you that a great fighter pilot doesn't necessarily
make an honest politician, I guess.

Is there such a person as an honest politician? I don't think those two
words can appear in the same sentence anymore.


Matt

Cunningham is a pariah in the fighter community. I talk to these people
every day. He's toast!
As for the honest politicians; there are indeed a few honest politicians who
run for office. Unfortunately, the instant they arrive to take that office,
they learn immediately that the system itself is so corrupt that no honest
politician can function there and survive.
Dudley Henriques

Cunningham is a pariah in the fighter community. I talk to these people
every day. He's toast!

Echo that - we have one of his aircraft on display and essentially, no
one wants to mention him when a tour goes past it. If visitors bring
him up, it is universally for the same reason, to deride and insult
him. My history with him is negative but most of our former military
pilots on staff were quite stout supporters of him, until his great "I
have sinned against yooooouuuuu!" speech. Now, its impossible to find
someone that isn't disgusted with him.

As for the honest politicians; there are indeed a few honest politicians who
run for office. Unfortunately, the instant they arrive to take that office,
they learn immediately that the system itself is so corrupt that no honest
politician can function there and survive.

I agree. From the moment a person gets elected, he has to begin the
process of getting RE-elected, with all the ass-kissing and kow-towing
that such an accomplishment requires. End result is that instead of
following their own principles, a freshman representative ends up
having to adopt whatever positions and views their new benefactors can
coerce them to accept. Its sad. I watched an idealistic young family
man rise up from the masses to become a representative here in San
Diego and within a couple years, his votes could be accurately
predicted by following which companies had donated money to his
reelection campaign. Worse, he is now righteously indignant when such
conduct gets pointed out by the media. Our system is broken. The
people who benefit from it being broken are the only ones that are in a
position to fix it, so its going to STAY broken. Duke was simply the
post child for the whole system.

v/r
Gordon

"Gordon" wrote

My history with him is negative but most of our former military
pilots on staff were quite stout supporters of him, until his great "I
have sinned against yooooouuuuu!" speech. Now, its impossible to find
someone that isn't disgusted with him.

Care to give us a little insight on what the "I have sinned against
yooooouuuuu!" speech is all about?
--
Jim in NC

Morgans wrote:
"Gordon" wrote

My history with him is negative but most of our former military
pilots on staff were quite stout supporters of him, until his great "I
have sinned against yooooouuuuu!" speech. Now, its impossible to find
someone that isn't disgusted with him.

Care to give us a little insight on what the "I have sinned against
yooooouuuuu!" speech is all about?

Cunningham's tearful mea culpa reminded me of an earlier, equally
unconvincing speech by disgraced Pastor Jimmy Swaggart, who used that
time worn phrase in front of the tv cameras. Go in front of your
constituents, grab the microphone, cry like a baby and try to convince
the faithful that you really are _sorry_ .... for getting caught!

v/r
Gordon

In article ,
mumbled
The Democrat who delivered the address is Francine Busby,
the party's candidate to replace former Republican Congressman, Randy
"Duke" Cunningham of California.


And she lost.....