Russert has been misrepresenting his own interview.

[alcuno]

Whether on purpose or by accident. I heard him twice today, on IMUS and on Hardball, state that * said that he had shown up for duty in Alabama. That didn't sound right so I went back and looked at the transcript. What * said was "I got an honorable discharge, and I did show up in Alabama."

What's missing from that sentence is the word "duty" that Mr. Russert keeps inserting. I emailed him but I was wondering if anyone else heard it. Slip of the tongue?

[KissMyAsscroft]

1. Ummm...

Its implied that he showed up for duty. I think you are just arguing semantics...

I dont like Russert either but give the guy a break on this one..

[bookman]

2. No break

Usually I might agree. But these guys play with words all the time. We need to stay on top of it. It is how these lying liars operate. "Uh, I never said duty", "Uh, I said wmd programs." and so on.

[buycitgo]

7. such a GREAT point!

they LIVE by such sophistic/rhetorical contortions

the greatest of these being either the "imminent threat" crap, or the conflation of Saddam=911 BS.

they do this ALL the time, and when called on it, they claim, "I never said that!"

they turn the "Is is" parsing flap into a feeble joke.

lowest of the low.

problem is....it WORKS for them, because, well, you know.......

fricking MEDIA not only lets them get away with it, they ACTIVELY advance such wordgames by NEVER, EVER calling them on it

OK, sometimes, but only LONG after the damage (like starting a WAR!!!) is done

they don't CARE by that point.....they've as much as admitted that....think they actually have

[alcuno]

3. Well it may have been implied but isn't that the point?

That * was implying that he showed up for duty when all he really said was that he showed up in Alabama.

[CatWoman]

4. Yep

Russert was on Tweety, and said this issue will be out there for a long time.

The more people represent the facts, the more facts come out.

Sit back and enjoy the ride :D

[slor]

5. Good catch...

and that is how these freaks operate.

[w4rma]

6. transcript

...
RUSSERT: And we are back in the Oval Office, talking to the president of the United States.

Mr. President, this campaign is fully engaged. The chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terence McAuliffe, said this last week: I look forward to that debate when John Kerry, a war hero with a chest full of medals, is standing next to George Bush, a man who was AWOL in the Alabama National Guard. He didn't show up when he should have showed up.

BUSH: Yes.

RUSSERT: How do you respond?

BUSH: Political season is here. I was -- I served in the National Guard. I flew F-102 aircraft. I got an honorable discharge.

I've heard this -- I've heard this ever since I started running for office. It's a -- I put in my time, proudly so.

I would be careful to not denigrate the Guard. It's fine to go after me, which I expect the other side will do. I wouldn't denigrate service to the Guard, though. And the reason I wouldn't, is because there are a lot of really fine people who have served in the National Guard and who are serving in the National Guard today in Iraq.

RUSSERT: The Boston Globe and the Associated Press have gone through some of their records and said there's no evidence that you reported to duty in Alabama during the summer and fall of 1972.

BUSH: Yes, they're -- they're just wrong. There may be no evidence, but I did report. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been honorably discharged.

In other words, you don't just say I did something without there being verification. Military doesn't work that way.

I got an honorable discharge, and I did show up in Alabama.

RUSSERT: You were allowed to leave eight months before your term expired. Was there a reason?

BUSH: Right. Well, I was going to Harvard Business School and worked it out with the military.

RUSSERT: When allegations were made about John McCain or Wesley Clark on their military records, they opened up their entire files. Would you agree to do that?

BUSH: Yes. Listen, these files have been -- I mean, people have been looking for these files for a long period of time, trust me, and starting in the 1994 campaign for governor. And I can assure you in the year 2000 people were looking for those files, as well. Probably you were.

And absolutely, I mean, I...

RUSSERT: But you will allow pay stubs, tax records, anything to show that you were serving during that period?

BUSH: Yes. If we still have them, but I -- you know, the records are kept in Colorado, as I understand, and they scoured the records.

And I'm just telling you, I did my duty. And it's politics to, you know, to kind of ascribe all kinds of motives to me. But I have been through it before. I'm used to it.

What I don't like is when people say serving in the Guard is -- may not be a true service.

RUSSERT: Would you authorize the release of everything to settle this?

BUSH: Yes, absolutely. We did so in 2000, by the way.

RUSSERT: Were you in favor of the war in Vietnam?

BUSH: I supported my government. I did. And would have gone, had my unit been called up, by the way.

RUSSERT: But you didn't volunteer or enlist to go?

BUSH: No, I didn't. You're right. I served -- I flew fighters and enjoyed it, and provided a service to our country. In those days we had what was called Air Defense Command, and it was part of the air defense command system.

The thing about the Vietnam War that troubles me, as I look back, was it was a political war. We had politicians making military decisions. And it's lessons that any president must learn, and that is to the set the goal and the objective and allow the military to come up with the plans to achieve that objective. And those are essential lessons to be learned from the Vietnam War.
...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A23218-2004Feb8?language=printer

MSNBC transcript here (parts of the MSNBC one seem to have been scrubbed)
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4179618/

[alcuno]

8. Hmmm. He did say, "but I did report."

Okay then I am wrong.

[Gin]

9. Thats exactly how they operate....he "showed up" in Alabama....but

not for duty....he tells parts of the story to make it seem true.
That's called lies of omission.

Remember when he said there were no war plans on his desk???
They weren't on HIS desk...They were on someone elses desk. Still a liar by any standard.

[madrchsod]

10. isn`t there a paper saying he wouldn`t fly

overseas? and what about the drug test!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not a fuck`n thing said about that anywhere in the media. also he should have been sent right into the regular services if he was discplined-the refusal to take a drug test,i think there is a doc. stating that this was the procedure .

[billbuckhead]

11. Whenever someone says the phrase "trust me" they're up to something

There's some BS factor at work.