Is * AWOL only a small part of the picture?

[Lone_Wolf]

Was * actually drafted and slated to go over to Vietnam? We do know that people with *'s birthday were actually drafted. In order to get out of going to Vietnam, did Poppy pull some strings to get him in the TANG instead? Is this why * leapt over hundreds of other applicants and get one of the coveted spots in the TANG?

Is this the real scandal instead of AWOL? This article hints at this possibility:

http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=240&row=4

[stepnw1f]

1. Another Hole To Fill

I assumed that would be THE story.

[ThomWV]

2. Birthday's Irrelevent

The lotter by birthdate for the Draft didn't start until after Bush had joined the TANG I believe.

I went in at the end of 1966 and the draft wasn't using a lottery system then. I was thinking that the lottery by birthdate begain sometime around early '69 or so, but I really don't know the date. I do think that Bush's brush with service predated it though.

That doesn't mean for a second that his slimy ass didn't avoid the draft by other means. But the point is that the chump was healthy so a 4F wouldn't have been in order. He couldn't have been a conscienceous objector, the POS has no conscience If he was 18 and out of high school his ass should have been fair game until the day he started classes in college.

[Lone_Wolf]

3. Excellent observation

Using his birthday does not mean he would have been drafted because he was in the TANG before the Selective Service used the lottery. You make a very good point.

There still has to be a reason why * leapt over all the other applicants. Perhaps, his father being a Congressman at the time, knew that the Selective Service was going to a lottery system and got * into the TANG so that there would be zero chance * would go to Vietnam. Something isn't quite right with *'s story.

[punpirate]

4. Bush would very likely have been drafted...

... and there's some suggestion that his ANG enlistment was done in a hurry. He finished classes at Yale around the middle of May, 1968, and his enlistment date was May 28th, 1968. He apparently had no plans for graduate school, at the time.

Some writers have suggested that his enlistment had to have happened quickly, because Bush hadn't shown any concern for the draft until the possibility was imminent--as he neared graduation. The draft lottery was not announced until November, 1969. He would certainly have been drafted in that eighteen or so months.

[Lone_Wolf]

9. Hypothesis so far...

* after graduating from Yale in 1968, couldn't get into grad school because of poor grades. Without a grad school deferment, he was a prime candidate to be drafted. Poppy was aware of this, so he pulled some strings to quickly get * into the coveted unit of the TANG that was known as the Champagne Unit. It was called this because socially and politically prominent Texans of draft age all seemed to serve in this unit.

This explains why he jumped over hundreds of others on the waiting list of hundreds and performing dismally on his pilot aptitude test.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072899.htm

[alfredo]

5. The destruction of documents, could cause a lot more trouble for a lot

more people than baby bush. How about a conspiracy to destroy government documents. It may not hit bush, but it could hit people around him including his daddy.

[nefarious]

6. Draft - ability

New here to this forum.

IMO, as dissent for Vietnam was growing and volunteer ranks were dwindling, there probably was sideline talk of implementing a draft in Congress by '67 - '68. No doubt Congressman GHW Bush knew about that when GW was graduating from Yale in 5/68, but the "smart money" odds from previous drafts would have had GW as a prime candidate for the Selective Service, as in previous drafts the military had favored 22 - 26 year old inductees (more emotional stability under pressure). IIRC, in the four Vietnam era drafts they wanted inductees ages 18 - 20 years(?), which would have been pure speculation in '68.

I looked up the following:

GW Bush, birthday = July 6th, 1946

selective service draft lottery call up order:

Dec. 1, 1969: 1970 Draft: # 327
Jul. 1, 1970: 1971 Draft: # 164
Aug. 5, 1971: 1972 Draft: # 185
Feb. 2, 1972: 1973 Draft: # 132

I thought the highest number called in any of those years was about 110? So no, he unfortunately can't be faulted with getting an influence peddler to help him directly dodge an impending call up.

Even so, I still believe our Maynard G. Krebs president is just brimming with hypocrisy.

[alfredo]

10. Welcome

It was so unfair to get him in ahead of over 500 people on the waiting list, then spend all that money to train him, only to have him desert. The worst part is he got away with it.

[boobooday]

7. This is the line that made me sick to my stomach

in light of Greg's article:

President Bush: "There’s no certainty in war but the certainty of sacrifice."

Might I add: "And the certainty that it won't be ME or MINE doing the sacrificing, but the sons and daughters of you little people."

I really, really can hardly stand any more.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

Jeanette

[snippy]

8. Have you forgotten that Bush gave up sweets during the initial combat?

Not only did Bush make such a tremendous sacrifice, he also had his minions boast to the press about it.

Strain of Iraq war showing on Bush, those who know him say

By Judy Keen, USA TODAY

. . .

People who know Bush well say the strain of war is palpable. He rarely jokes with staffers these days and occasionally startles them with sarcastic putdowns. He's being hard on himself; he gave up sweets just before the war began.

. . .

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-04-01-bush-cover_x.htm