CNN doing a spot on AWOL Bush right now

[NNN0LHI]

Confiming everything the Globe reported. Didn't show up for a year.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

1. I don't use this often

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[The Backlash Cometh]

36. Me too, me too!

:bounce: etc.

[maddezmom]

2. who did the spot?

wonder if I'll get to see it on Lou Dobbs or Aaron Brown....the only US news I get from CNNI.

[tishaLA]

3. Good to know Kerry is

STILL distancing himself from the comments. Calls AWOL discussions "over the top."

Oh well.

[ShaneGR]

11. Ummmmm, just a point

But isn't Clark the one who distanced himself from Moore's comments about desertion?

Seriously, it's still a really hot issue. Let the media hammer Bush with it, and keep the Dems out of it until the General election.

On a positive note, Terry McAullife HAMMERED the AWOL story on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. George Stephashutthehellupyoustinkingtraitoroppolis tried to get him to change the subject but Terry would have none of it, talking about AWOL being fair game, and the gloves were off.

[tishaLA]

15. Nope.

Clark said he didn't know the facts of the case--which, of course, would put him in the same position as Jennings, the proud pea-hen who told us the charges were "unsubstantiated." Clark also said that he believed in Moore's freedom of speech.

[blm]

12. He has his subdivisions pounding away.

He and Clark are doing the right thing on this issue. They stay above it so the story doesn't become Candidate X smears President.

However they both have others in their campaign swinging the awolstick at various events.

[sandnsea]

20. Smart politics, both of them

This is the way to do it, not have a Presidential candidate making remarks that have yet to be proven one way or the other. FACTS. The left needs to get a handle on the idea of FACTS.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

16. No he specifically said he was objecting to the word 'deserter'

[tishaLA]

19. If you saw this report

he also distanced himself from AWOL.

Apparently, no criticism of chimpy's service is not "over the top."

[sandnsea]

28. Did you see the report??

They also said that someone who was not regular Army could not fall into the category of either AWOL or Deserter. And Kerry is handling this exactly right. He isn't saying Bush served his country admirably, he's simply deferring the issue and condmening the specific word Deserter, which he's right to do in this case. It's called not making yourself a target, not alienating people you need to vote for you in order to beat Bush.

[tishaLA]

29. Yes, I saw it n/t

[TacticalPeek]

38. "not regular Army could not fall into the category of either AWOL/Deserter

Ah, the brainless media.

Based on CNN's careful, in-depth 'research and analysis' I recommend to any interested NG and Reserve types, not yet called to active duty (all six of you), also having an aversion to sand, to simply hie thee to a distant, quiet campaign organization without forwarding address and wait eighteen months or so and then consider if its time to stick your head up, or, like the groundhog, its a better time to stay hunkered down a while longer.

And don't worry about AWOL or desertion, CNN has proven there is no such thing for you. Be sure to save a copy of the CNN report to give to your JAG guy. He'll know what to do with it.

[0rganism]

42. My understanding is that National Guard service during conscription...

...follows the same code of duty as regular military.

In other words, because bush used the National Guard service to satisfy his potential draft requirement, he would be liable for the same conduct as a regular.

[WiseMen]

33. Kerry will not show his hand UNTIL HE HAS THE RIGHT CARDS

[Forkboy]

43. Waiting for the fifth ace?

[NNN0LHI]

22. You got it n/t

[WiseMen]

31. Kerry has paid for an ongoing investigation into the matter

He has said before the the term "Deserter" seem innacurate.

You should take note that in his campaign Kerry does not make
charges that are not rock solid.

[DrBB]

44. He suffers from terminal senatoritis

Yeah, good for you John, fair and balanced, right into the fair and balanced ashcan (I hope to god not) in November.

They're not gentlemen, John. Get that? Look what they did to McCain--in their own effing party. They aren't going to play by country club rules, m'kay?

I thought Dean was supposed to have injected some backbone into you, ya hulking dimwit. Start playing the goddamn game like you mean it or you're gonna go down as the Bob Dole of 2004.

[ShaneGR]

4. My suspicions confirmed about how the media works, polls

Ok, lets say CNN does a poll and it shows Bush has a 60% approval rating. So they don't want to piss of the majority of their viewers and run a ton of anti-Bush stuff. So they ignore negative stories.

Now, lets say CNN runs a poll that shows Bush below 50% and losing to the potential Dem nominee. All bets are off, and they know that more than half of their viewers will be happy with a little Bush bashing.

Follow?

[DebJ]

8. ahhh..now I see. I was noting to a friend a slight difference in the news

on most cable programs the last several weeks. Thanks for the enlightenment! Hey lets DU lots of polls!!!

[Mz Pip]

5. About time

Why this got no play in 2000 is beyond me. Guess yammering about Gore inventing the Internet was more important.

MzPip
:dem:

[barbaraann]

6. So, now, every soldier in Iraq who wants to go home can now and

can just "make up the time later." Right?

[Terwilliger]

7. The Democratic party just lost the election

Bush says he's wonderful, nobody asks him where he was, Kerry is freaked out by anyone using the "deserter" allegation, and Blitzer puts up a poll that says that Americans are 49 to 34% thinking Bush is more "patriotic" than Kerry.

[tishaLA]

10. No--he freaked about "AWOL" too

[Terwilliger]

17. either way

that piece was completely pro-Bush

[NewYorkerfromMass]

23. That's O.K. When AWOL charges are proven, Kerry can say:

I am shocked! SHOCKED! that W did not meet his obligations to his country!!! :evilgrin:

[Terwilliger]

26. Proven?

proven where? they haven't been proven yet, and Kerry backpedalled from the entire issue

[Malva Zebrina]

45. I agree entirely with your analysis

Bush is sending our boys and girls to Iraq for his own purposes based n greed and on a lie. About 530 of them are dead because of Bush's lie.

That a candidate who himself is a decorated veteran, serving in that brual Vietnam war, has to be seen as "smart" when he does NOT bring those facts to the forefront is to me and indication that that candidate is too cautious and is just more of the same. Further his photo ops--the glitz and all, have turned me off. I do not like the let's pretend mode--Kerry is a very very wealthy man. So is his wife. That,to me, has an influence on my pick. Why do we need millionaires and billionaires to represent us, we the people--the majority of whom are just the common man--not rich?

Kerry has been entrenched too long in the obfuscation, self protect, congressional game for my taste. I cannot place my full faith in him because of that. I have my doubts, and he certainly, even within the past few days, has proven that he is not about to make waves. I do not like that, expecially now in this crucial time when strength of purpose is certainly needed more than "hesitancy" and caution.

He is a good man--that is not the point- he just does not have the ability to attack, concentrate and hone in on the evilness of Bush, effectively. Right now his attacks have been mainly following Dean's example.

I will vote for him naturally,should he be the nominee, but I do not especially like him, admire him or have much faith in him

ABB

[Skittles]

51. I can tell you were never in the military

to make this issue go away, all Bush would have to do is say CHECK MY MILITARY RECORDS. He does not do this because he knows what the records show - what the Boston Globe reported - HE DIDN'T SERVE ALMOST TWO YEARS OF HIS ENLISTMENT PERIOD. It HAS been proven; it simply has NOT been WIDELY REPORTED.

[Jack_Dawson]

13. What is wrong with Blitzer?

Didn't he used to be at LEAST semi-fair and balanced?

[TexasPatriot]

25. ill tidings for sure

ok mr kerry... is this how you intend to respond when Roveco 'brings it on'...

[ComerPerro]

49. Kerry doesn't want to say "deserter"

But he fucking better. Because they are already starting to attack Kerry, get this, FOR serving in Vietnam!!!!!!!!!!

[Leilani]

9. they showed Michael Moore

& his comments.

Kerry also distances himself from remarks.

[0rganism]

14. Oh Sweet Vindication

I take it this means we won't have any more of those front-loaded "deplore the allegation" questions from Mr. Jennings in the debates...

[Terwilliger]

24. Well, judging by this piece, the issue is over

no more questions about Bush's service...it will all be stipulated that Bush was a good soldier who did proper service to his country...no more questions to be asked

[0rganism]

39. judging by this piece's existence, the issue is all over the place

He was gone for a year, didn't report for duty when called.

That's AWOL, baby. Blitzer can spin until the cows come home, but anyone who was watching knows they can't deny it now.

[Terwilliger]

40. No, in fact the report went into detail about why he WASN'T AWOL

and that's my point...once they spin it away (find plausible reasons for things that aren't tacked down with facts and data) it's done

When Kerry is debating him, the subject won't come up because there's not enough of a conclusion to label Bush with anything.

[bobbieinok]

47. I DO NOT understand why you don't think W was AWOL

you keep putting the whole question down - a non-issue

[RobertSeattle]

18. Why can't DOD or the NG find old pay stubs for him???

(Assuming he did attend training) he would have been paid and there would be a paper trail. Alas....

[knight_of_the_star]

21. WOOT WOOT WOOT WOOT!!!!!!!!!

HUZZAH!!!! HUZZAH!!!! HUZZAH!!!! HUZZAH!!!! HUZZAH!!!! HUZZAH!!!! HUZZAH!!!!
:party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party::toast::bounce::party:

[Terwilliger]

27. nothing to be excited about

they just basically ended the issue and Kerry helped

[knight_of_the_star]

30. Actually they didn't

Now that it is "legit", this has opened up a WHOLE can of worms for us to throw at Bush during the GE. We can use it without being called a bunch of nutcases and use it like a club, which we should.

[Terwilliger]

32. no, I'm saying, they shut off the issue

Kerry won't talk about it w/o compelling evidence that Bush did something...it's over

[knight_of_the_star]

34. None of the candidates need to use it

We can for them by word of mouth, and sooner or later it WILL be asked of him on national television, and THAT will hurt.

[Terwilliger]

37. you hope

I don't see it...the question will only be asked if the Dems bring up the question (like Jennings did with Clark at the debate)

It WON'T be talked about otherwise.

[bobbieinok]

48. ?????? again

...

[Malva Zebrina]

46. "WE"?

who is "we"? Moi? I am just an ordinary citizen, in the very lower class of society but with eneough intelligence and energy to be interested, especially on DU, the great place.

I have done nothing profound that will gain me any power or publicity and I have no blog, no recognizable name and no following. Most of all, I have no money. Further, I am too old

"WE"?

We need someone who will challenge Bush on his lies. Why should this prick be allowed to get away with all of these lies?

If the candidates do not want to go there, well, that tells me that they are also afraid of the Bush.

[tishaLA]

35. UPDATE: FAUX reports

..on Brit Hume, that Kerry, like Clark before him, did not distance himself from the comments by hi ssupporters like Cleland (this is contrary to what CNN reported). Carl Cameron noted that when Clark didn't repudiate the comments, his poll numbers started dropping, and implicitly predicted a similar fate for Kerry.

WTF is this reporting?! How do I get such divergent stories from these stations but both predict certain gloom for the dems?

[kskiska]

41. Faux also said

that when asked whether he intended to use this in his campaign, Kerry said he hadn't decided yet.

[bobbieinok]

50. Media froze Clark out of attn after he defended MM

and now they say his numbers are falling because of AWOL story????

The media will say anything to try to make things go the way they want.