AWOL Bush?

“'somes'? <sheesh>”

“Good stuff. I hope they either prove the existence of said documents or actually get their hands on them. Go press go!”

“You know I love to see them sweat but this was a long time ago. Everybody we knew was trying not to get messed up in that mess of a war. Everybody pulled every string they could pull. Guys that could not read or write went to college. When they changed over to a lottery then the guard looked really good. The messed up guys we have known that did go are sad. I just can't say as how I blame him much--that's how it was.”

“I think it speaks volumes about his character... then and now. If he had an ounce of grit, he would have faced this head-on when it came up before.

It reminds me of Nixon --- It was the cover-up that got him.”

“Funny isn't it........

In 1992, Bush I vs. Clinton, Military service did not matter.

In 1996, Clinton vs Dole, Military service did not matter.

In 2000, Bush II vs Gore, Military service did not matter

and now all of a sudden it's a central issue?”

“National security is an issue since we were attacked.”

“As I see it Bush has always had things handed to him. I can't type and I can't remember details but what I have filed in my head from many articles over time is that Bush jr has never had to do very much on his own--I don't think he knows how. He was a flaky kid and he is a flaky man.”

“HEY --- I resemble that remark!

(I don't plan on running for PRESIDENT anytime soon, though.... LOL)



I need to have some t-shirts printed...

"Flakes of the World Unite!"”

“It really has nothing to do with national security or even military service. The Vietnam war was very unpopular for good reasons. Lots of people avoided it.

But...

This is directly from the Russert interview:

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.


Now Scott McClellan says:
No, I think the question was payroll records, payroll records that would show you served. It was relating to the issue of whether or not you served."



This shows two things:

1) Bush lied (again).
2) He's hiding something important.”

“Scott Ritter says,"HI",on Dennis Miller tonight.Dennis of course told him the truth about the WMD and the Bush war. Miller doesn't spell football or anything in the real world. What a #@$^.”

“In 1992, Bush I vs. Clinton, Military service did not matter.

In 1996, Clinton vs Dole, Military service did not matter.

In 2000, Bush II vs Gore, Military service did not matter


I can't say I agree with you, Savage, In the first two instances, Clinton took a lot of heat for the military servcie issue. If I heard someone call him a draft dodger any more than I did, I think I would puke from dizziness as a result of the constant repitition. As for Bush II, his military service DID come up, but the press decided not to ride the s_it out of it and it eventually got put on the back burner. Just looking at that from a different angle, I guess...”

“Yeah - Clinton took a lot of heat for the way he manouevere around serving in the military. People made a big deal of what this said about his character.

Personally, I think it did point to him being just a little too slick.”

“How soon we forget, eh Savage?”

“Clinton caught hell for "dodging the draft". I was waiting for him to step up to the plate and acmit that he avoided service because the Viet Nam police action was a big mistake. However, he didn't have the guts to be straight about the subject.
GW, bringing "integrity" back to the Whitehouse, cannot be straight about the reason he went into the Guard and HOW he got in. The press was asleep in the last election, and have been for some time. Are they waking up now? We'll see.”

“No, the press likes to sling mud. I've lost most of my respect for the mainstream press in the country. This issue and a dozen others should have been forced long ago. Now the damage is done.

BUSH OUT IN 2004!!!”

“Roseymonster, WTF are you doing worrying about this......aren't you hiking in South America?”

“I am, bro. But I will be coming back to my country so I have to try and stay somewhat apprised of developments. I may be 5000 miles away but I still want a new Pres!

I'll be forgetting about things again for the next six weeks...”

“Sorry about the length of this but its worth it. From this morning's press conference.



Q: Did the President ever have to take time off from Guard duty to do community service?

Scott McClellan: To do community service? I haven't looked into everything he did 30 years ago, Helen. Obviously, there is different community service he has performed in the past, including going back to that time period --

Q: Can you find out if he actually had --

Scott McClellan: Helen, I don't think we remember every single activity he was involved in 30 years ago.

Q: No, this isn't an activity. Was he forced to do community service at any time while he was on --

Scott McClellan: What's your interest in that question? I'm sorry, I just --

Q: Lots of rumors. I'm just trying to clear up something.

Scott McClellan: Rumors about what?

Q: Pardon?

Scott McClellan: Rumors about what?

Q: About the President having to do community service while he was in the National Guard, take time out for that.

Scott McClellan: I'm not aware of those rumors. But if you want to --

Q: Could you look it up? Would you mind asking him?

Scott McClellan: That's why I'm asking what's your interest in that? I just don't understand your interest in that.

Q: It's what everybody is interested in, whether we're getting the true story on his Guard duty.

Scott McClellan: Well, you have the documents that show the facts.

Q: I'm asking you to try to find out from the President of the United States.

Scott McClellan: Like I said, it's well known the different jobs he had and what he was doing previously, that we know. That goes back to --

Q: I didn't say "previously." I said, while he was on Guard duty.

Scott McClellan: But you're asking me about 30 years ago. I don't think there's a recollection of everything he was doing 30 years ago.

Q: Well, he would know if he had to take time out.

Scott McClellan: Again, I mean, the issue that was raised was whether or not the President was serving while he was in Alabama. Documents reflect that he
was --

Q: Well, this is another issue.

Scott McClellan: -- hold on -- that he was serving in Alabama. That was the issue that was raised. We went through, four years ago, other issues related to this.

Q: So you won't answer the question or you won't try to find out?

Scott McClellan: Well, I'm asking you, what's your interest in that question? I'm just curious, because rumors --

Q: Did he have to do any community service while he was in the National Guard?

Scott McClellan: Look, Helen, I think the issue here was whether or not the President served in Alabama. Records have documented --

Q: I'm asking you a different question. That's permissible.

Scott McClellan: Can I answer your question? Sure it is. Can I ask you why you're asking it? I'm just -- out of curiosity myself, is that permissible?

Q: Well, I'm interested, of course, in what everybody is interested in. And we have a very --

Scott McClellan: Let me just point out that we've released all the information we have related to this issue, the issue of whether or not he served while in Alabama. Records have documented as false the outrageous --

Q: I asked you whether he had to do any community service while he was in the National Guard.

Scott McClellan: Can I walk through this?

Q: It's a very legitimate question.

Scott McClellan: And I want to back up and walk through this a little bit. Let's talk about the issue that came up, because this issue came up four years ago, it came up four years before that -- or two years before that, it came up four years before that --

Q: Did my question come up four years ago, and was it handled?

Scott McClellan: Helen, if you'll let me finish, I want to back up and talk about this --

Q: Don't dance around, just give us --

Q: It's a straightforward question.

Q: Let's not put too fine a point on it. If I'm not mistaken, you're implying that he had to do community service for criminal action, as a punishment for some crime?

Q: There are rumors around, and I didn't put it in that way. I just --

Q: Could you take that question? I guess apparently that's the question, that he had to take time out to perform community service --

Scott McClellan: That's why I wanted to get to this because --

Q: -- as a sentence for a crime.

Scott McClellan: No, that's why I wanted to get to this because I want to step back for a second. I want to go back through a few things. Look, the -- I think we've really exhausted the issue that came up. The issue that came up was related to whether or not he had served while he was in Alabama. Records have documented as false the outrageous, baseless accusation that he did not serve while in Alabama. The conspiracy theory of one individual, that the National Guard cleansed documents, has been discredited.

Q: How so?

Scott McClellan: Read The Boston Globe today.

Q: Well, we want answers from you, not --

Scott McClellan: Read the Boston Globe. No, the answers are from the people that would have knowledge of that. But read --

Q: Why do you think this person made those allegations?

Scott McClellan: Hang on, hang on.

Q: What? Just read The Boston Globe --

Scott McClellan: Just read The Boston Globe. Read The Boston Globe. I would draw your attention to that. What I think we're seeing now is just politics. And we're not going to engage in it, because there are great challenges facing our nation, and there should be an honest discussion of the actions the President is taking to make our world safer and better and make America more prosperous and secure.

You want me to go --

Q: -- the personal record of a President is --

Scott McClellan: No, hang on, Helen, hang on. I've said from this podium, if we have new information that comes to our attention that relates to this issue, we have made it clear we will share that information. You're asking me to go and chase rumors. There was a conspiracy theory --

Q: I think --

Scott McClellan: Hold on, hold on, Helen. There was a conspiracy theory made by one individual, when everybody he accused of being involved in that said, it's ridiculous, didn't happen.

Q: This is not based on a conspiracy theory.

Scott McClellan: And there was a lot of attention given to this individual, and he's been discredited. There's a Boston Globe article on it this morning. And there are some --

Q: That says what? Your point --

Scott McClellan: You can go read it. I mean, we've got other things to move on to. I mean, you can go read it. But there are some, unfortunately, who simply are not interested in the facts. Again, the documents -- the records document that he did serve while in Alabama. And now there are people that are bringing up issues that were addressed four years ago.

Q: But you still haven't answered Helen's question. She asked you a simple question.

Scott McClellan: There are people that want to replay the 2000 campaign all over again, Bill, and --

Q: You still haven't answered her question about community service.

Scott McClellan: -- there are too many important -- there are too many important policies and decisions that are being made that we need to discuss.

Q: Why does a "yes" or "no" elude you on this?

Scott McClellan: I didn't say that. I said that these were all issues addressed four years ago. If there's additional information --

Q: This issue quite obviously wasn't addressed four years ago.

Scott McClellan: Oh, issues -- these issues were addressed four years ago.

Q: This issue was? The community service issue was addressed four years ago?

Scott McClellan: The issues -- the issues that we're going to here --

Q: I don't recall --

Scott McClellan: This is called chasing a rumor. And I'm not going to engage in this kind of politics, Bill.

Q: -- finding out whether a rumor is true or false.

Scott McClellan: No, this issue, absolutely --

Q: Why can't you say whether or not he performed community service?

Scott McClellan: Absolutely, this issue came up four years ago. And if you all want to play politics, then go call the RNC, call the campaign.

Q: The best defense is offense. We know that. Just, all you've got to say is you don't know.

Scott McClellan: Helen, it was -- this issue was addressed four years ago. I think people that were involved in the campaign will know --

Q: -- if they know --

Scott McClellan: -- that the issue that you're trying to bring up was addressed four years ago. It's about chasing rumors.

Q: It isn't a question of four years ago. The issue has come up now, very large.

Scott McClellan: I'm not going to get into chasing rumors.

Q: Headlines.

Scott McClellan: I'm not going to get into chasing rumors.

Q: So you refuse to answer the question?

Scott McClellan: You're saying that people said he was forced to do something, and you're asking me to chase a rumor.

Q: Everything is politics today, of course.

Q: She asked you a "yes" or "no" question.

Scott McClellan: Look, if you all want to -- this is just politics. That's what this is. And if there's any more information I have to share with you all, I will always -- I will do that.

Q: Scott, I have a question of this individual, and I confess, I haven't read the Boston article. But who -- what do you believe was this person's motivation, that if they have been discredited, for making these allegations?

Scott McClellan: Just -- I would read The Boston Globe. Everybody that he accused of being involved in this has said it was totally ridiculous. And there are others that --

Q: So are you saying -- was it politically motivated?

Scott McClellan: There are others that are quoted in The Boston Globe today, that you might want to see what they said.

Q: Speaking of politics, has the President authorized his campaign --

Scott McClellan: And we've got to --

Q: -- to release a video attacking Senator Kerry?

Scott McClellan: You need to talk -- you need to talk to the campaign. But let me go to the week ahead because we've used up more than 15 minutes.

Q: So the President did authorize --

Q: Scott, I've got --

Scott McClellan: I'm going to go to the week ahead.”

“V, that reads like an Abbot and Costello routine!”

“Deer caught in headlights.”

“Evade a question? Never.”

“Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey.”

“Drudge Reports Lame Stink Bomb

A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
by Todd Smyth

Hey, look over there, it's another intern scandal. As retired National Guard members surface to confirm Bush was AWOL during the Vietnam war, a scandalous rumor appears to divert attention and smear a Vietnam war hero.

Gossip maven Matt Drudge has slapped together several different hair thin rumors that have been around for months to make one seemingly plausible thread. Alleging Senator John Kerry may be under suspicion by other news sources to have had a conversation with a woman that is not his wife. When the woman in question, Alex Polier, a Journalist (not an intern) traveled on assignment to Kenya, Matt Drudge reported that the mystery woman has fled the country. A key part of the report that is easily overlooked is this statement: "There is no evidence the pair had an affair." John Kerry has flatly denied the rumor on the Don Imus show, Friday morning.

With a 200 million dollar stink bomb factory and the dark wizard of misinformation, Karl Rove in charge, we can expect the Republicans to pull a lot worse than this. The smear mongers are regurgitating shades of Clinton in a lame attempt to change the subject from the feeding frenzy over Bush's lying about his Vietnam military service and then covering it up while he was Governor.

Retired National Guard Lt. Col. Bill Burkett has come forward to say that Bush and his aides "ordered Guard officials to remove damaging information from Mr. Bush's military personnel files." In 1997, Joe Allbaugh (chief of staff for then-Governor Bush) told the National Guard chief to get the Bush file and make certain "there's not anything there that will embarrass the governor." Burkett said that a few days later at Camp Mabry in Austin, he "saw Mr. Bush's file and documents from it discarded in a trash can." In 1998, Burkett sent a letter explaining the events to a member of the Texas State Senate with no response.

http://www.misleader.org/daily_mislead/Read.asp?fn=df02122004.html

Bob Mintz and Paul Bishop former members of the Air National Guard unit that President George Bush claims to have served with in 1972 had been told to expect him and were on the lookout for him. He never showed up.

http://www.memphisflyer.com/content.asp?ID=5480&ArticleID=2

Retired Lt. Col. Reese Bricken, former commander of the 9921st Air Reserve Squadron reviewed documents Tuesday showing Bush's transfer request to his squadron and his response to the request. He said he remembered sending approval back for him to serve in the small unit. "He never did come to my squad," "He was never at my unit." Bricken said.

Bush's assignment to the 9921st was withdrawn months later because it did not perform work equivalent to Bush's requirements. So in September, Bush applied to the 187th Tactical Recon Group, also in Montgomery, according to a Sept. 5, 1972, letter. The three-month transfer was approved.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/

Although the payroll records show Bush getting paid for service in Alabama in October and November, former commander retired Brigadier General William Turnipseed of the 187th said Tuesday that he didn't remember the young Texas pilot. "I just don't think he came to the base," ... "I would have remembered him” ... “But actually, I don't think he made an appearance."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml

Todd Smyth
Alexandria, VA”

“Some parts of Burkett’s strike me as a wee bit fishy, especially that someone would discuss scrubbing a file over a speakerphone. However, this bit in the NY Times makes me go whaaaa?


Mr. Bartlett denied on Wednesday that any records were altered. General James, since named head of the Air National Guard by President Bush, also denied Mr. Burkett's account. But Mr. Bartlett and another former official in Mr. Bush's administration in Texas, Joe Allbaugh, acknowledged speaking to National Guard officials about the files as Mr. Bush was preparing to seek re-election as governor.

Both said their goal was to ensure that the records would be helpful to journalists who inquired about Mr. Bush's military experience.




Helpful to journalists? Okay...”

“Burkett’s story that is.”

“As some of us have found out the hard way, sometimes you can be on the speaker and not know it....”

“Sounds like a story.”

“It sounded to me like General James was actually on the call in a different room. The room with the active speakerphone was unoccupied, so none of the participants in the call knew they were on the speaker --- there was no one there giving them any feedback over the speakerphone's mic.

Besides, this fits right in with the Bush family's reputation as an ongoing criminal enterprise.


JUST KIDDING! (I think)”

“I've been wondering how things might progress if Col. Burkett had reached into that trashcan and stuck those alleged files into his briefcase. It could've been like the Blue Dress all over again.”

“I still don't think the President has answered the question. He needs to open up all of his records and prove himself.”

“The records that he did open up proven nothing. Now all of a sudden, one guy calls in and says he remembers Bush reading safty manuals.

I think the military does matter, that is the main reason I liked Powell and Clark. They both know how important it is to take orders and give orders.

Iraq might have been avoided if Bush did go to Vietnam. He might have learned something about trying to push ones culture onto another culture. Exspecially one that is older and more conservative.”

“If GW weinied his way out of Nam in the guard---could be the only smart thing I can think of him doing.”

“You all are missing the real issue here, which is that Violin apologized for a long cut and paste.”

“How much credibility does John B. Calhoun have?”

“I spent the day doing my usual election year protection program.First, I sprinkle Democrate and Republican repellant all around my house.Second, I put on all of my old Ross Perot buttons and seach out any dems and reps left hiding. Thirdly, I wash my mouth and mind out with some really old rum. I'm ready for this years circus---are you?”

“oh man....”

“Colin, why didn't you stick to your conscience?”

“NEW YORK (Reuters) - A $10,000 reward offered by the "Doonesbury" comic strip for proof that President Bush served in the Alabama National Guard during the Vietnam War has elicited over 1,300 responses but turned up no credible evidence yet, the cartoonist said on Friday.

With so much controversy surrounding Bush's National Guard service, a credible witness would have turned up by now if there was one, said Garry Trudeau.

"You can be sure some very motivated people have tried to find a witness who can establish Bush's presence at Dannelly Base beyond a reasonable doubt," said the creator of the politically irreverent and satirical daily cartoon. "Anyone who could do so would almost certainly have surfaced by now."

...He also said he realized it was "counterintuitive" for him to support Democrats because he considered Bush to be "God's gift to cartoonists."”

“Do you think Dubya has any sympathy for this guy?

(AP) A U.S. soldier who refused to return to Iraq after seeing civilians killed reported to his unit in Florida on Tuesday and said he would go to prison rather than take part in "an oil-driven war."

Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia, who is seeking to be declared a conscientious objector, met with officials at his Florida National Guard unit after repeating his determination not to return to the Middle East and fight.

"I'm prepared to go to prison because I'll have a clear conscience," Mejia said.

Guard spokesman Jon Myatt said Mejia has been classified as a deserter because he had been missing from his unit for more than 30 days.

Myatt said a warrant to arrest Mejia could be issued if he failed to appear Wednesday at Fort Stewart, Ga., from which his unit is deployed. He said Mejia had not been charged.

Mejia, 28, of Miami Beach, could face up to one year in prison for being absent without leave and up to five years if convicted of desertion, said Tod Ensign, director of Citizen Soldier, a New York-based group that is organizing Mejia's defense.

Mejia was in Iraq for about five months last year until October, when he came home on leave and did not return to duty. He surrendered Monday at an Air Force base in Massachusetts and was ordered to report to his Florida National Guard unit.

"The justification for this war is money and no soldier should go to Iraq and give his life for oil," Mejia told reporters Tuesday.

He was accompanied by his mother, an aunt and Spc. Oliver Perez, who served with him, when he reported to the Florida armory.

Perez said Mejia is "a brave leader" and should not be prosecuted.

"I fought next to him in many battles. He is not a coward," Perez said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/16/national/main606703.shtml”

“Bush's flight from the Guard

Why was he abruptly grounded from flying? Why did he leave the Texas Guard two years early? A key report answering those questions is still missing from George W. Bush's records.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By James C. Moore salon.com


The story keeps changing. And regardless of what the White House says about George W. Bush and his time in the Texas Air National Guard, journalists tend to accept the explanation. I can't. The president of the United States is lying to hide his behavior while he was a young pilot during the Vietnam War, and he has almost taken away reporters' ability to get the whole story. Unfortunately, the national media have other distractions, and they apparently don't think the Guard story is important enough to warrant additional effort. I think they are wrong.

The president's behavior while under oath to serve in the military is an important matter. By George W. Bush's own admission, there were at least eight months in 1972 when he was not performing assigned Guard duty. What if today's Guard members behaved as irresponsibly as Bush did during his hitch? Where would our war on terrorism be if they all acted as capriciously as he did and they took off to go do something else while they were still under oath to serve? That's what the records prove George W. Bush did. Aren't there young Americans in Iraq, who have been called to active duty in a war zone, who would rather be in Alabama?

The president and his staff are doing a very good job of convincing the public he has released all of his National Guard records and that they prove he was responsible during his time in Alabama and Texas. But the critical documents have still not been seen. The mandatory written report about Bush's grounding is mysteriously not in the released file, nor is any other disciplinary evidence. A document showing a "roll-up," or the accumulation of his total retirement points, is also absent, and so are his actual pay stubs. If the president truly wanted to end the conjecture about his time in the Guard, he would allow an examination of his pay stubs and any IRS W-2 forms from his Guard years. These can be pieced together to determine when he was paid and whether he earned enough to have met his sworn obligations.

The narrative trail of the president's time in the Guard isn't easy to follow, and I have been pursuing it since Bush ran for governor of Texas in 1994. When he began planning his race for the presidency, a few journalists filed Freedom of Information requests for Bush's retained records at the Texas National Guard Headquarters at Camp Mabry in Austin. The file they received contained 160 pages. Dan Bartlett, now the White House communications director, who was working for the campaign at that time, said that represented the entirety of the record. However, when the Bush administration provided White House reporters with the "complete" file in the dead-news zone of a Friday night in early February, there were about 400 pages. Two hundred forty pages, unavailable to us during the presidential campaign, had suddenly been discovered. Nonetheless, the most important documents were still missing. Reporters just didn't know what was absent.

In April of 1972, the young lieutenant made a unilateral decision that he was no longer going to fly. Although he had taken an oath to serve for six years in his privileged position in the Texas Air Guard, George W. Bush left for Alabama two years before his hitch was up. Taxpayers had spent close to a million dollars training him to fly a fighter jet, but he was intent on working in a U.S. senate campaign. Bush's Guard file shows that he did not request a transfer until a few months later, and it was turned down. Bush, who was due to report to his Houston air base for a physical on or before his July 6 birthday, failed to return from Alabama. He was subsequently grounded on orders from Maj. Gen. Francis Greenlief. And this is where the mystery begins.

Taking away a pilot's wings was not a minor decision. During the course of investigating this matter over the past decade, I was told by numerous Guard sources that pilots simply did not skip their physicals for any reason. Bush may have thought this was a good strategy for getting out of his obligation to the Guard. However, there had to be an investigation into his grounding. Normally, a formal board of inquiry would have been convened to examine the pilot's failure to keep his physical status current. At a minimum, a commanding officer would have been expected to write a narrative report on why one of his pilots had been taken off the flight duty roster. Either that report, or the findings of the board of inquiry, would then be sent to the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver and to the Texas Guard headquarters in Austin. A pilot simply did not walk away from all of that training with two years remaining on his tour of duty without a formal explanation as to what happened and why. This narrative report is the document the public has never seen and the Bush White House is unlikely to ever release. Disciplinary action taken against Bush ought to be a part of his personnel record. No such files have ever been disclosed.

When the Bush campaign began pressuring Sen. John Kerry to release his complete military file, Bartlett spoke as though Bush were occupying the moral high ground on the issue. "The president made a pledge before the American people, and he made his complete file available to the media and the public," Bartlett told the Boston Globe. "They were able to review all of his medical records." Bartlett, who acted as liaison between Gov. Bush's administration and the Texas Guard, has insisted all of the president's service points documents, performance sheets, and any existing records have been made public. This is, of course, patently not true. There is nothing that offers a report of disciplinary action against the young pilot, nor has anyone seen pay stubs or a total retirement-points sheet.

And there are simple explanations as to why those documents disappeared. If the materials were ever provided to reporters, it would be an uncomplicated exercise to determine whether Bush served enough time to have met his legal obligation. We would also learn if his grounding was a product of inappropriate behavior for an officer, and if, in fact, the rumors of excessive use of alcohol and drugs played a role in his loss of flight status.

Unlike lawyers, journalists pay little attention to concepts like chain of custody for evidence. In the case of the president's Guard records, whoever possessed them and had the motive and opportunity to clean them up is a critical question. When Bush left the Guard about a half year early to attend Harvard Business School, his hard-copy record was retained in a military personnel records jacket at the Austin offices of the Texas Guard. Eventually, those documents were committed to microfiche. A copy of the microfiche was then sent to the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver and the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Those records are considered private, and they cannot be released to anyone without the signature of the serviceman or woman. The White House has never indicated that Bush has signed the authorization form. And this is what prompts unending suspicion.

The documents given to Washington reporters were printed from one of those two microfiches. According to two separate sources within the Guard who saw the printout and spoke with me, the microfiche was shipped to the office of Maj. Gen. Danny James, commander of the Air National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va. James' staff printed out all of the documents on the film and then, according to those same sources, James vetted the material. Subsequent to being scrutinized by James (who commanded the Texas Guard and was promoted to Washington by Bush,) the records were then sent to the White House for further scrutiny prior to release to the news media.

This is a considerably different process from what was practiced by Sen. John McCain during the 2000 presidential campaign. McCain, who spent several years in solitary confinement during the Vietnam War, was the target of a whispering campaign during the South Carolina primary. Political reporters, who suspected the story originated with Bush political strategist Karl Rove, were being told by third parties that McCain had mental problems that made him a presidential risk. McCain signed a release form, and his entire record, a stack of papers more than a foot tall, was made available to reporters without being vetted by the campaign. The allegations about his mental health died shortly after McCain authorized full disclosure.

The Bush administration is playing semantic games with the public regarding the president's Guard files. While Bartlett insists they have been released, there is no proof that Bush has even signed a release-authorization form. The limited release of those 400 pages may have been over his signature. However, the White House is clearly deciding what papers to share and what to keep private. No one has ever seen proof that the president did sign the necessary release forms, and officials at the Denver and St. Louis records centers are no longer commenting. If the president did write his name on the necessary forms, why not share that with the public? It would be a positive indication that he was in favor of the flow of information about his Guard years, and it could be expected to have a positive political effect.

Even if Bush had cleared the public viewing of his entire file, he ought not to have shipped it to James for printing and examination. According to Lt. Col. Bill Burkett, who was a strategic planning officer for the Texas National Guard during Bush's gubernatorial administration, James ordered a cleanup of the Bush Guard files in 1997. Burkett said he was waiting outside James' office when he heard a speakerphone conversation between the commander of the Texas Guard and Joe Allbaugh, Bush's chief of staff in Texas. Recounting the conversation, Burkett said he heard Allbaugh tell James to "clean up the governor's files and remove any embarrassments in case he wants to run for reelection or something higher."

"Karen [Hughes] and Danny [Bartlett] are going to be coming out to take a look at this file," Allbaugh said. "They're going to write a book."

In a telephone conversation with me late last year, James denied the conversation ever occurred. Burkett, nonetheless, said James repeated the orders the next morning around the coffee machine while Burkett, James and two other officers were having a conversation. I leaked Burkett's story to the national media shortly after filmmaker Michael Moore described the president as a "deserter" and set off a furor. White House reporters suddenly began asking questions and the Bush administration was compelled to respond. Allbaugh went on NBC News with correspondent Norah O'Donnell and called Burkett "some goober from West Texas."

But Burkett's story fits with what we know.

About 10 days after he overheard the conversation, Burkett said he was led to the museum on Camp Mabry by an old friend, Chief Warrant Officer George Conn. According to Burkett, he and Conn came upon Gen. John Scribner, who was standing next to a 10-gallon gun-metal-gray wastebasket. Scribner had the military personnel records jacket of George W. Bush open in front of him and was sorting through papers it contained.

"What are you doing?" Conn is said to have asked.

"Just going through this," Burkett recalled Scribner answering. "It looks like they are going to have to reconstruct this out of Denver."

In Burkett's recollection of this meeting, Conn took Scribner aside to talk and Burkett went through papers that had been placed in the trash. He said he saw critical documents, such as retirement and cumulative-points records, being discarded. He was unable to determine if the report on Bush's grounding was in the trash.

Scribner, who is now retired, refused to take questions from me. However, when the story broke nationally, he denied the incident.

"I have no memory of anything like that taking place," he said.

Burkett, though, had already taken up his claims about the Bush file cleansing in official channels, and there was earlier evidence to corroborate his claims. He had written a letter to Texas State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, and, in testimony before legislators, spoke of numerous irregularities in the Texas National Guard. But no one wanted to hear it. The hometown boy, George W. Bush, was running for president, and everyone was getting on the bus.

A few years later, Dave Moniz of USA Today spoke with Burkett about allegations that the lieutenant colonel had witnessed a senior official at the Guard removing documents from Bush's military personnel records jacket. Burkett again said the papers bearing Bush's name were being dropped into a wastebasket. Conn, in interviews with Moniz, confirmed Burkett's description of events for the paper. For whatever reason, Moniz's editors chose not to run the story.

The key to proving Burkett's allegations was Conn. I contacted him in Europe via e-mail. He was nonresponsive to my inquiries. Conn did, however, offer a character reference on Burkett to Ralph Blumenthal of the New York Times, which described Burkett as truthful and honorable. Conn wasn't the only one who felt that way. Harvey Gough, another Texas Guard officer, recalled being told about the Bush file incident by Burkett right after it happened, and several others within the Guard attested to Burkett's integrity. Conn, in fact, had stuck by Burkett throughout his Texas senate testimony on Guard malfeasance, in his letter to the state senator, and while serving as a source for USA Today's eventual report. In seven years, Burkett's story has never changed. The only thing new is Conn's failure to support his friend. Why?

Conn is a civilian employee of the U.S. Army in Germany. The White House can pull any number of levers to influence his comments. Conn, undoubtedly, had reason to worry about his employment if he stuck by Burkett. Burkett, however, understands what he is confronting. He still considers Conn a friend. "But I can't expect him to give up his life for me over this," Burkett told me.

In an interview with the Boston Globe, Conn said Burkett's memory was inaccurate and no such encounter had ever happened. Reporter Michael Rezendes failed to explore why Conn may have decided not to back up Burkett. In a half hour conversation with me, Rezendes ended up using one terse quote in his piece where I described the standoff as a classic "he said, she said." He did not tell his readers all of the people I interviewed about Burkett's claims. Rezendes' piece was ultimately posted on the Bush/Cheney campaign Web site because it did such an effective job of discrediting Burkett.

A writer's job includes connecting the pieces. I told Rezendes that a combination of facts made Burkett's story believable. Reporters had discovered there were documents missing from the Bush file in Austin. Combine that fact with Karl Rove's history of deceptive political tactics, Burkett's impeccable reputation as an officer and a man, and his story is worth telling, even after Conn withdrew his affirmation of events. The information speaks for itself, and rather loudly. Burkett is in poor health, living on the edge of the desert in West Texas, and trying to enjoy his retirement after 28 years of service in the National Guard. His wife was an organizer in the state for Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Burkett is uncomfortable on camera, and, as a result of a virus contracted while on duty in Panama, is subject to physical collapse. This is hardly the profile of a man who would choose to make up a story and take on the White House.

Burkett's story about the manipulation of Bush's "retained record" has never changed nor has he ever wavered in its retelling. And the "retained record" of Bush's time in the Texas National Guard is what reporters were using to write their first stories on the presidential candidate. If it had been cleaned up, as Burkett alleged, the only place to find the complete file would be on the microfiche. This is undoubtedly why the president has not simply ordered the entire file printed out and released without restriction to news media outlets. The paper records, which may explain the grounding and prove the president did not serve sufficient time to meet his legal obligation to the Guard, have likely been removed from the Austin files. But the microfiche has the whole truth, and that's why its dissemination is being controlled.

The irony in all of this is that I am largely responsible for reducing access to those records. During the 1994 Texas gubernatorial race between Ann Richards and George W. Bush, I was a panelist on the only televised debate between the two candidates. The question I chose to ask Bush first was about the National Guard. I had lost friends in Vietnam, and many of them had tried to get into the Guard. We were all told that there was a waiting list of up to five years. The Guard was the best method for getting out of combat in Vietnam. You needed connections. George W. Bush had them.

"Mr. Bush," I said. "How did you get into the Guard so easily? One hundred thousand guys our age were on the waiting list, and you say you walked in and signed up to become a pilot. Did your congressman father exercise any influence on your behalf?"

"Not that I know of, Jim," the future president told me. "I certainly didn't ask for any. And I'm sure my father didn't either. They just had an opening for a pilot and I was there at the right time."

Maybe. But it's more likely he was there at the right time with the right name. Col. Buck Staudt, who ran the air wing in which Bush served, had filled his "champagne unit" with the politically connected and wealthy. The sons of U.S. Sens. Lloyd Bentsen and John Tower of Texas were in that unit, along with the son of Texas Gov. John Connally and the two sons of Sidney Adger, George H.W. Bush's closest friend in Houston. I should have let that speak for itself.

"As soon as you asked that question," one Guard officer told me, "they went about the business of building their alternative story. They contacted all of Bush's commanders and friends from that time to make sure they would all stand by Bush."

And, undoubtedly, Rove and company went to work on cleaning up the files. The stonewalling on this is still succeeding. Reporters calling the National Guard offices in Arlington and the Pentagon are being told the staff is no longer authorized to speak about the president and his time in the Guard. One national reporter, who is still trying to get to the bottom of the controversy, told me the White House said they were not going to talk about the Guard matter any further.

And, sadly, the questions have stopped.”

“Bush is just being a gentleman and not telling all of that passionate summer with Hillary Rodham as she was already dating her future husband. It would ruin her reputation.”

“Maybe that is the time period when Dubya was taken by aliens.

They did sexual things to him, ya know.”

“Remeber, the space alien has always been right about who's gonna win. When do we find out who they're supporting this time around?”

“"I have no memory of anything like that taking place," he said.



The classic non-denial denial.”

“Worked for Clinton (Mr. and Mrs.).”

“Isn't it about time we see "Laura Bush: Lesbian" on the cover of one of those bull$h!t newspapers.”

“Can't defend bush; gotta attack Clinton --- I've seen it a million times. How transparent.


(Unlike the 'release' of his Guard records, LOL)”

“Just pointing out you inconsistent postition.”