W. House says questions about Bush's military service represent election-y

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/02/03/politics1114EST0551.DTL

White House says questions about Bush's military service represent election-year politics

(02-03) 08:14 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

The White House struck back Tuesday at Democratic critics questioning President Bush's record of military service, saying the issue "represents the worst of election-year politics."

"It is outrageous and baseless," presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said in response to suggestions that Bush shirked his military duties when he was in the Texas Air National Guard in 1972.

Military service has emerged as an issue in the campaign for the White House. Sen. John Kerry, the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark are decorated veterans and remind campaign audiences of their service.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said Bush was "AWOL" during the Vietnam conflict, while former Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia has criticized Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. Clark has criticized Bush for his remark challenging enemy forces to "bring 'em on" earlier in postwar Iraq.

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http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/kerry/articles/2004/02/0... /

Kerry calls on Bush to settle questions on military record

Democratic presidential front-runner John F. Kerry, who has turned his decorated Vietnam War service into a theme of his campaign, said yesterday that President Bush and the US military should settle questions -- raised recently by Kerry allies -- about whether Bush completed his military service requirement in the Texas Air National Guard in the 1970s. Before attending a campaign rally here that drew 2,000 people, on the eve of today's presidential primary in Arizona and six other states, the Massachusetts senator said that the matter of Bush's military service record was "a question that I think remains open." Kerry added that he lacked "the facts" to make a judgment about accusations that Bush ended his military commitment prematurely.

"It's not up to me to talk about them or to question them at this point," Kerry said of the accusations. "I don't even know what the facts are. But I think it's up to the president and the military to answer those questions." Kerry also said he was not sure if he would exploit Bush's military record as an issue in the fall general election if he were to become the Democratic nominee. "I don't know yet, I haven't made up my mind," Kerry told reporters on the tarmac of the Tucson airport.

Yet two prominent Democrats with ties to Kerry -- Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe and former senator and Vietnam veteran Max Cleland -- have ratcheted up their attacks on Bush's military record, with McAuliffe saying on television Sunday that Bush had been "AWOL" at times during his guard service. Cleland, speaking at a veterans' rally with Kerry on Friday, said the nation should not have a president "who didn't even complete his tour stateside in the guard." Kerry said yesterday he did not ask allies to attack Bush on his military record.

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[indepat]

1. Incredible: as if almost everything in an election year is not about polit

ics.

[Chico Man]

3. Damn politicians getting involved with politics

Oh the shame.

Bush, why don't you just prove to us that you didn't SHIRK military service!

That would be the ultimate political comeback.

[joeunderdog]

36. Election year? Check. Politics? Check. ANSWER THE QUESTION! n/t

[Terran]

16. Everything Bush has said and done the past two months

is election year politics.

Mars.
Immigrants.
SOTU.
Medicare.
NEA funding.

You name it...

[Bandit]

2. They are being forced to talk about our issues now.

One of our issues is Bush* and his military record. Not just where he was but how did he achieve his commission without any Officer Training. Once we have them on the defense we attack, attack, attack. On every front. Keep them responding to us instead of the other way around.

[indepat]

8. Attack, attack, attack everything from his past including Harken,

alleged substance abuse and arrests, everything that has any bearing on his character and conduct: is it not time he gets the treatment and scrutiny Bill Clinton received?

[stopbush]

22. You're right, and those attacks should serve as the basis for

what has gone wrong with bush in the WH.

This time, it really *is* a matter of character. A leopard doesn't change his spots, and a dry drunk doesn't have the capacity to think for himself and avoid senseless and illegal wars. A drug abuser doesn't have the capacity to remain dispassionate while his corporate friends abuse the system. Just as a drug addict may eventually turn to theft to support his habit, bushco has turned to raiding the treasury to support their habit.

And on it goes...

[tekriter]

24. Betcher a**, Dad.

I've been somewhat disappointed that the Demo primary campaign COULD have been used for a tag-team a** kicking but instead has been a bunch of inter-party sniping. Not entirely, but too much IMHO.

[tekriter]

26. "intra", not "inter"

Dang keyboard can't spell today.

[bigwoody]

34. Gore let that smirking bitch off the hook on all this shit. There was

enough to write a BOOK (Molly Ivins)! Spank the monkey, spank the monkey!!!

[thebaghwan]

13. Right On, Bandit!!!

We should absolutely keep attacking on every issue. This is guerilla warfare folks! It forces the repukes to use people to answer these issues. It is a drain on their time and resources. When these issues make it to the national media then people start to wonder and to question Bush. So call your newspaper editors, your congress person and senators and the White House. Issues would be countless but could include the AWOL issue, the cut in Veteran's benefits, the Plame case, the Inquiry into Iraq intel etc.

Come on folks, put the heat on them!!!

[Aristus]

4. Yeah. And the reich-wingers didn't make a fuss about Bill Clinton's

war record, did they? :eyes:

[RobertSeattle]

17. Exactly - for 8+ years CONSTANT

Whenever their arguments were weak, they'd pull out the old ROTC/Draft issue or a Bimbo.

I'm hoping Kerry doesn't have a DUI so he can also say he's never had a DUI...

[UpInArms]

5. when will the WH

explain the policization of the "Mission Accomplished" photo-op on the USS Abraham Lincoln (where the * landed on an aircraft carrier in a flightsuit with a codpiece), descending in a fighter jet?

What gave that creep the right to impersonate a military serviceman?

If he didn't want his military record questioned, why then did he act like he was "military"?

[maxrandb]

38. Please!

Don't ever call that S-3 Viking a "Fighter Jet". Most are now used to serve as airborne tankers and couldn't get to mach speed in a full free fall.

Typical of *, everything he does has to do with oil or gas. He landed on a carrier in a "tanker" wearing a codpiece, not a jet fighter.

[RT Atlanta]

6. B.S.

The WH is the one pushing the military service and national security credentials as a must have in "the war on terrorism." You reap what you sow and as far as I am concerned, they deserve every bit of scrutiny on this issue (it should have come the first go around, but I am statisfied with late rather than never), together with the 9/11 panel report and the non-existent WMD matter.

[codegreen]

taking the fight to * every day!

anyone else licking their chops for a landslide victory? let's take it back!

[underpants]

7. "These kinds of attacks have no place in politics....

"These kinds of attacks have no place in politics, and everyone should condemn them," McClellan said.

Like the lying about Gore's "lies"?
Like the McCain push-polls in South Carolina?
Like oh I dunno the Clinton impeachment?

Sorry bud that cat is out of that bag and you set it free.

[Virginian]

21. If not in politics, then where do they belong?

Oh, and remember Poppy's other youngster Dan Quale?

Just the fact that he did National Guard service instead of 'Nam was a target topic. I couldn't understand why, in 2000, Dubya was given a pass that he was able to get into the Guard when Gore volunteered and went to 'Nam.

I also don't understand why it wasn't brought out that Bush was privileged enough to get one of the coveted slots and then failed to meet his end of the bargain. That story against a picture of Gore in uniform should have been better publicized.

I don't see anything wrong with going into the National Guard. The problem was that the Guard was not an option that anybody could choose. Back then it was exclusive and almost totally white. It was the way a rich or connected kid could avoid the draft after he graduated from college and no longer had his school deferrment.

[underpants]

23. Why are you so filled with hate?

Sorry couldn't resist.

I agree there is nothing wrong with going in the guard or doing whatever you can legally to have gotten out of going if you felt strongly against it. But if you did and you did it through family position (what it took 2 hours to jump over 147 other candidates?) then say so....oh I forgot there is that whole fake image to uphold.

[Virginian]

30. And you aren't?

Your subject line got my attention.
I HATE what that man is doing to my country.

Why did we give Dubya a pass in the last election?

We knew about it. I remember reading an article that took up at least a page in the Washington Post about his biography and it included Texas National Guard and an Alabama absence.

[underpants]

31. Of course I am

13,641 to 49
http://www.uaw.org/cap/01/news/day3media.html

Wasting no time, delegate Charlie Cox from UAW Local 2162, who is a Vietnam veteran, set the tone by asking why George W. Bush got a free ride from the media regarding reports that he was AWOL during most of the time he served in the National Guard during the Vietnam war.

"Let me give you some statistics," responded panelist Paul Begala, "I worked for Bill Clinton in 1992 and …in anticipation of this very question, I looked this up on Nexis. There were 13,641 stories about Bill Clinton 'dodging the draft' …and there were 49 stories about Bush and the National Guard," Begala said.

Conceding that Bush had generally gotten a "gentle ride" during the campaign from the press, Howard Fineman drew a loud protest from the crowd when he suggested that the press wasn't as aggressive with regard to Bush because the scandals of the Clinton years had "exhausted" the press and the public.

[Virginian]

39. Too bad that election day isn't a day off...

as suggested by House Minority Whip, David Bonior, in that article. If it were, I might be able to get a little more help in my precinct.

[hatrack]

27. So the RNC would say what about Max Cleland/Osama TV ads?

Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that to question the names, positions, motivations and backgrounds of those responsible for smearing an honorable man who left most of himself lying on the ground in Vietnam would be "partisan", "unworthy of public debate" and "election-year politics".

Thanks for helping me clear that up, Scotty-boy!

[lolly]

41. Wait, you forgot

The last senate race--Max Cleland is in bed w/Saddam . . .

[rincons land]

43. then there is this...

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/2/6/113036.shtml

[Virginian]

44. I wonder what they used to get to him.

Awful lot of people reversing their stories these days.

[rincons land]

45. The main accusor is not reversing his story

He is pointing out that his words were taken out of context and twisted to fabricate this whole awol story.

[ixion]

9. it is neither baseless, NOR outrageous

it is the TRUTH.

Like the man said... "just the facts."

[underpants]

10. Can I pull out an old Republican favorite? "If you got nothing to hide...

you got nothing to worry about".

[librechik]

28. Yes, all they can do is lie and cover up, it's so obvious

why do they continue to believe they can convince anybody with their tall tales when they repeatedly either have no evidence or the evidence they present has been tampered with? Why do they take the American People for idiots? Not all of us are Bushbots, have they convinced themselves we are?

[emanymton]

11. Keep Hammering, You Got A Winner Issue!

GOP have given the Democrats many winning issues this election. Nail the Shrub with his actions, behavior and attitude failures.

I do not object that the Shrub was born on third base. I object that he acts like he hit the triple that put him there!

[llmart]

12. Note to Repugs:

What goes around, comes around. Your endless vendettas against the Clintons are coming back to bite you in the ass.

[mbperrin]

14. Boo-hoo, Scottie! Why don't you go complain to your mama,

"the toughest grandma in Texas?" You liddle wimpy complainer!

[Just Me]

15. Chickensh*ts,...come forward, bring it on,...

,...bring forth the truth if you have nothing to hide!!!

[fishnfla]

18. Funny, this issue was nearly nowhere in the LAST selection

But if it was..., oh well better late than never. The truth is Bush was dunk all the time back then, so we wont get the truth from him

[central scrutinizer]

19. easy solution

Just trot out proof that Bush really did serve and not only will the issue go away, but they could then use it in their favor. On the other hand, the louder they protest without producing a refutation, the more people will become convinced that the charges are true.

[sendero]

20. No, sh*t for brains...

.... this is just the beginning. The free pass Bush* got in 2000 has been revoked for cause. Bush* dragged the country into a war, one that will have repercussions for decades, based on a pack of lies.

Even the stupid and venal among us is realizing that Bush* could not manage a 7-11, much less a country.

So, the free pass is revoked. And get ready, this AWOL crap is just the tip of the iceberg. It is going to be a realllllllllly long year for you guys. Have fun.

[doc03]

25. Can't be AWOL unless you are on active duty

One of the talking heads said this the other day, " you can't be considered AWOL unless you are on active duty at the time". That kind
of sounds like what the definition of "is" is.

[0007]

29. Why are the White House people so sensitive, touchy and jumpy

when ya mention junior and his service duties? Are they ashamed also? How come junior's service records has all been scrubbed clean and a few are even missing? Can't junior stand on his own two legs and tell the country that he didn't go AWOL.

Even junior's inside trading and two fisted dealings with Harken is not available for public view after he stood before the country and said we could check out the facts and find the truth.

Why is everyone so nervous? Oh, I forgot 'tis election year and we ought to feel like criminals for bringing up these stories on our Commander in Chief.

[yellowcanine]

32. but somehow McCain's POW experience

was fair game for Rove to exploit in the South Carolina primary in 2000 with a whispering campaign about his mental stability? Right Scotty, it is so unfair to bring up the service record of someone wanting to be commander in chief.

and where were you when Poppy Bush was whining to Rush Limbaugh in 1992 about Bill Clinton visiting Moscow as a Rhodes Scholar in 1968?

and where were you when the Bush minions were trashing Max Cleland's national security credentials in 2002?

Whining bunch of hypocritical weasels.

[truthspeaker]

33. payback's a bitch, ain't it Scotty?

Y'all dragged Clinton through the mud. Time to return the favor. Only this mud is a lot dirtier and stickier.

[yellowcanine]

35. Karma? We don't need no steenkin karma.

Can't we just all get along now?

[fob]

37. Is that a winning campaign theme I hear? W=AWOL?

Where was W when our country was under attack on 9-11?

Where was W when fiscal leadership was needed to control budget deficits?

Where was W when Janet Jackson had her right tit exposed during the Superbowl halftime show?

Etc., etc.

[lolly]

42. Let's be fair, now.

He already answered that last one . . . he was sound asleep.

Or was that the answer for all of them?

[Democat]

40. I thought BUSH exploiting 9/11 was the worst thing anyone had ever seen!

I guess asking questions about the past or requesting facts is really the worst.

[bluedog]

46. scoured.....thats the proof....

****bush knows no one will find out the truth about his record..he admits his records were scoured....what about his tax reports then...did they get......."brillo padded?"