Bush's Guard service: What the record shows :Boston Globe

[jbfam4]

Bush's Guard service: What the record shows
By Walter V. Robinson, Globe Staff, 2/5/2004

Boston.com / News / Politics / Presidential candidates / Bush's Guard service: What the record shows


False, outrageous, and baseless, said the White House. Terry Holt, the spokesman for Bush's reelection campaign, insisted in an interview yesterday that Democrats are recklessly trying to "impugn the character of the commander-in-chief."

As with much of the partisan back and forth in presidential politics, the truth lies elsewhere -- in this case in Bush's military records. Those records contain evidence that a lackadaisical Bush did not report for required Guard duty for a full year during his six-year National Guard enlistment.

A detailed Globe examination of the records in 2000 unearthed official reports by Bush's Guard commanders that they had not seen him for a year. There was also no evidence that Bush had done part of his Guard service in Alabama, as he has claimed. Bush's Guard appointment, made possible by family connections, was cut short when Bush was allowed to leave his Houston Guard unit eight months early to attend Harvard Business School.


In an interview yesterday, Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director, asserted that Bush "fulfilled his military requirements." Bartlett acknowledged that Bush's "irregular civilian work schedule could have put strains on when he served, when he performed his duty."

Before the Globe report in May 2000, Bush's official biography reported erroneously that he flew fighter-interceptor jets for the Houston Guard unit from 1968 to 1973. In a 1999 interview with a military publication, Bush said that among the values he learned as a pilot included "the responsibility to show up and do your job."

[trumad]

1. Link

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/02/05/bushs_guard_service_what_the_record_shows/

[tsakshaug]

2. Rush tuesday

Rush spent several segments on his show Tuesday with this topic. I was stuck in the car with my boss....So this is on the "talking points" for the right. ..It is just an attack from the Clinton people was what I could make out of what he was saying.

[izzie]

3. Lady was talking on TV and said the records are missing.

I have said that all along the records are gone. Now if you know the service you know pay rides on records and most people in the service like to be paid, also if you fly you need records and if you turn up at a new base you need records. To strange for words.

[colonel odis]

4. records .......

someone on cnn last night (can't remember if it was lou dobbs or aaron brown) had on someone who was a navy secretary under reagan, talking about the candidates using their service records in the campaign.

he said he served for three years as something something something something in charge of what not. but apparently, it had to do with guardsmen getting paid. he said it would be highly irregular if bush's national guard records had disappeared. he stopped short of calling it b.s., but he seemed to imply that those records don't just disappear.

[CatWoman]

6. It was Aaron Brown

BROWN: Don't you hate when ancient history is in your lifetime? So, how should we think about all of this if indeed we should think about it at all? Is Kerry's service relevant to today? Are his anti- war activities when he came home fair game?

And what about the president, he managed to find one of those coveted spots in the National Guard at a time, different from today, when that was very much a safe haven from Vietnam, does that matter? Does his attendance record, a matter of much debate, matter? Does all of it or any of it matter?

We're joined tonight by James Webb. Mr. Webb served as secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration, a graduate of the Naval Academy and a decorated Marine. He is also an author of some note. We're pleased to have him with us. Is it fair game all of this stuff, Senator Kerry and the president's time 30 years ago?

JAMES WEBB, FORMER SECRETARY OF THE NAVY: I think it's not only fair game but I think there are considerations that are at play here that because they illuminate larger issues of credibility could really make this kind of nasty in a surprising way.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0402/04/asb.00.html

[Beetwasher]

7. Conclusion: FUCK YEAH IT'S RELEVANT

Kudos to Brown for continuing to give this play...

[Moderator]

8. Catwoman

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
news source.


Thank you

DU Moderator

[FreakinDJ]

5. Tax Filings are a dead give away

His federal tax filings will reflect he never reported for duty too.

HaHa

Bushie got his ass caught in the ringer

[LiberalFighter]

9. Isn't it critical for the National Guards to keep tabs on their reserves?

Don't they have to account for the whereabouts for administration purposes? Need to know where the open slots are that need to be filled? Need to know the strength level of all NGs?

What type of roster do the bases keep?