Will it matter? Andy Sullivan writing in Reuters suggests not. I actually said the same thing not long ago this morning when writing about Mitt Romney’s deferments.

Of the 18 announced Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, only Republicans John McCain and Duncan Hunter have served on the front lines. Three others served in noncombat roles and another two served in the reserves.

Voters aren’t likely to care very much, experts say.

“I just don’t think we expect that obligation, and that’s because we don’t expect it of ourselves either,” said Bruce Altschuler, a Vietnam veteran and political science professor at the State University of New York at Oswego.

Though of course I am always leery of the term “expert” and always leery when only one or two are quoted. With that looking at the last few elections it doesn’t really seem to matter much to voters.