From Some Democrats, Caution on Bush Allegations

[kskiska]

When Democratic National Committee Chairman Terence R. McAuliffe went on television two weeks ago to accuse President Bush as a young man of being "AWOL" in his National Guard duty, party officials quickly heard complaints from the staff of presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.).

Kerry aides were not upset about McAuliffe's negative tone, Democratic sources said. Instead, they were worried that the party chairman had raised the charge too early -- preventing Kerry from making more effective use of a potent issue later this year if he is the Democratic nominee.

There is near-universal glee in Democratic circles over seeing Bush on the griddle over questions about whether he reported for duty while serving stateside in the Guard more than three decades ago. As Democrats see it, the controversy -- and what they see as the White House's halting answers to legitimate questions -- undermines Bush's national security credentials and his reputation for candor, while highlighting a life of ease and privilege that Bush lived before the presidency.

Amid the Democratic chortling, however, there are voices of caution who worry that the party may be raising trouble for itself with an exhumation of Bush's past. The lesson of the Clinton years was that accusers -- from Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-N.Y.) on Whitewater to House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal -- often suffered more damage than their intended targets.

In addition, a Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that 66 percent of all voters believed the questions about Bush's Guard service were "not a legitimate issue." This view was held even by 56 percent of all Democrats. Eighty-two percent of all Republicans and 66 percent of all independents did not think Bush's Vietnam-era history was relevant.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42677-2004Feb14.html

[JoFerret]

1. Yep. let's settle the truth and then

get back to the other issues - the budget, lies, Iraq, lies, environment, lies, the economy, lies and etc.

[MikeG]

2. I forgot, negative politics has really hurt the Republicans

They just control the White House, and both houses of Congress. The only way the Democrats will win is if they keep pounding W every day. The day they stop is the day W starts hitting back. If you don't believe me, ask President Dukakis.

[vi5]

3. Honestly, I think this has run it's course....

There will be no actual legal outcome of any of this. But the fact that it has raised questions and backed buscho into a corner and exposed their prevaricating and parsing of words and legalese to light, if we keep harping on it with no actual end in sight or proposed outcome it will backfire on us.

There are no shortage of issues to hammer on and we have everyone's attention. If we use this time in the spotlight to hammer on an issue that is this old it will not serve us well. I think it needed to come out and be examined by the media and it did and no matter what he doesn't look good. But what more do we need from this than that?

The other thing it has done is to neuter the Kerry/Fonda thing as well because in general people are not going to concern themselves with what people did surrounding an unjust war almost 40 years ago.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. Sorry, but it's not even close to running its course...

...because there are too many military lives at stake that are taking orders from this sorry POS.

Additionally, this is just the bare tip of Junior's credibility iceberg. What else has he failed to tell the American people, and how are those things affecting how he deals with everyday decisions?

Maybe you think that something from thirty to forty years ago is unimportant, but for those of us who lived through that period of time, it is highly relevant.

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. Gee wasn't it Peter Jennings who opened the can of worms

too early? He's the one that brought it up during the last debate when he asked Gen Clark about it.

This whole article is a load of bullshit. Not a legitimate issue? Sorry, I don't buy that for a minute. If is wasn't even a legitimate issue, Bu$h wouldn't be scrambling around releasing every torn bit of paper that he can find, trying to prove the impossible.

[fearnobush]

22. Exactly, Jennings did it.

But so what, I have yet to meet someone in the service who represents the WaPo abc poll. They are not buying the 400 bogus document claim.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

5. Anyone who believes that this is NOT a legitimate issue should...

...think about this for a moment:

Junior is a man that went AWOL in 1972 while Americans were still being killed in Vietnam. He was gone for more than 30 days which qualifies as desertion, a crime that carries a pretty sever penalty during wartime. Thirty years later, this same man is ordering young men to the Middle East to fight for what is now known as a set of bare-faced lies.

And people think this is a non-issue? Please.

[vi5]

Besides the media exposure, what comes next though?

I'm super happy this is out and love that the media is harping on it and also that our candidates have stayed relatively above the fray.

But now that people have a great example of how much doublespeak and backtracking this administration does, how far do we pursue it? It's not going to lead to impeachement or even censure. And there's no way in hell they are going to admit that he was AWOL.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

10. They don't have to admit that he was AWOL...it's already very clear...

...in his records.

What this event will do, and you mentioned part of it in your post, is help undermine his credibility to the point where other more recent events become much harder for them to fight off. Additionally, some people that may have protected/supported him in the past may not be so willing to do so in the future.

It's like being pecked to death by ducks...the early pecks don't bother you much, but the cumulative damage over time is what kills you.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

8. I see this...

As a VERY clear and telling issue that goes to Chimpy's core fitness for office.

I say follow it wherever it goes.

[Cocoa]

6. Colin Powell said it best...

"let's not go there."

Too late, Colin, we're there. ;-)

[yellowcanine]

7. No need for Democrats to mention this.

The press is in their feeding frenzy mode. Stand back and enjoy.

[stevedeshazer]

15. *ding*

Enjoying. Watching, laughing, enjoying.

[fearnobush]

23. Yes - they cannot get enough of it.

They reported it with a AWOL is true slant, so they will have to defend that stance.

[MGKrebs]

11. Yeah but....

Is cleansing his record a "legitimate issue"?
Is using cocaine a "legitmate issue"?
Is not telling us the above (if true) before he was elected a "legitimate issue"?

Just because it's not a legitimate issue today doesn't mean it won't be tomorrow.

[MikeG]

12. It's over when we say its over, pal!!!

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Huh?

[ixion]

13. the media should be held accountable for garbage like this...

how come NOTHING he does, no matter how astronomically tragic is ever considered an issue.

WMD LIES: Not an issue

PlameGate: Not an issue

Bush AWOL: Not an issue

Massive Deficit: Not an issue

'Jobless' Recovery: Not an issue


Tell me, please, just exactly what would it take to be 'an issue'... a blowjob?

*sigh*

:argh:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

25. Response:....

Plamegate: special prosecutor named who has been quite active to date. Investigation is now centering on Cheney's office and his aide. Somebody's going to jail.

Bush AWOL: Major issue regardless of whther or not it stays in the media spotlight. The damage is being done even as we speak.

WMDs: Under investigation.

GOP hacking into Dem computers: The undercurrent says that it has the potential to be a Watergate-style investigation. The Judiciary Committee has promised to take action.

The economy and no jobs: Look around you...is it going away?

Massive deficit: The concern among top economists is growing exponentially. Greenspan's comments that Socual Security be stripped to fund permannt tax cuts is getting quite a bit of attention...negative attention.

[ixion]

26. understood, but my point is will it matter

allegedly, there remain 50 percent of the US populus that think Bush is loyal and trustworthy.

That's what bothers me.

And frankly, as long as Herr AshKKKroft is at the helm of the 'justice' department, don't expect real justice, IMO.

[dArKeR]

14. Bush records fail to scotch dispute

It was February 1968, just a few months before he would graduate from Yale, and George W. Bush's plan to enlist in the National Guard had hit a snag.

According to the records released by the White House on Friday night, Bush reported to an Air Force Base in Massachusetts for a medical examination on Feb. 21 of that year, and was deemed "not qualified" because of problems with his teeth. So Bush visited a dentist in New Haven on March 7. The dentist pulled one tooth from the future president and put a filling in another. A month later Bush's medical file was updated to show him as "medically qualified."

The thick stack of military records were released as part of the White House's efforts to rebut accusations from Democrats that Bush might have shirked some of his duties in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. The documents seemed unlikely to resolve that dispute.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/02/15/2003098801

[burrowowl]

16. Even as pResident he

went AWOL for a day flying all over the place after the WTC towers collapsed.

[The Mighty Boot]

17. "Just stayin' out of harm's way"

n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

18. Wouldn't want him to blow his eardrums out

or fill his lungs with that nasty air at Ground Zero?

[dArKeR]

19. So what did Dubya do in the Vietnam War?

Washington - Hundreds of pages of documents that the White House said comprise American President George Bush's entire military record offer no new answers to the election-year questions that have swirled around his Vietnam-era service.

Democrats who have led the criticism greeted Friday's release of documents with scepticism.

"Each revelation of material from the Bush White House has raised more questions than it has answered," said Democratic National Committee spokesperson Debra DeShong. "It remains to be seen if these newest documents will provide any answers."

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=3&art_id=qw1076744881453B212&set_id=1

[Taeger]

20. Big Difference

D'Amato and Gingrich were serious assholes. Most of the stuff they were pimping was 100% FALSE!!!!!

The AWOL issue is VERY real!!!!! And Bush is scrambling to keep the press from digging DEEP ENOUGH into the Cocaine issue.

[fearnobush]

24. The magic 8 ball says...

Someone will surface that claims the did blow with Bush during that period.

[0007]

27. Any man or women that can't stand scrutiny isn't worth having

Why should the American people accept a man as president at face value?

The AWOL charge should be brought to an apex.

But because of what it will uncover during the course of investigation, issues such as arrest records, community service records, James R. Bath association documents, and abortion records of Robin Lowman, I will be surprised if the truth will ever survive the scrutiny. Most Americans will blindly receive this defective package called "Our President" - "Right or Wrong" I'm proud of him - Will be the attitude of most folks. But not mine.

[wabeewoman]

21. What hurt Gingrich and D'Amato

was their arrogance and hypocracy. Same thing that is going to bring down this WH.

[snippy]

28. Nothing says "Bush" like "AWOL and lying about it."

AWOL in Alabama and lying about it.
AWOL before 9/11 and lying about it.
AWOL on 9/11 and lying about it.
AWOL on WMD and lying about it.
AWOL on the economy and lying about it.
AWOL on job creation and lying about it.
AWOL on the environment and lying about it.
AWOL on health care and lying about it.
AWOL on tax reform and lying about it.
AWOL on the deficits and lying about it.
AWOL on diplomacy and lying about it.
AWOL on the minimum wage and lying about it.
AWOL on foreign outsourcing and lying about it.
AWOL on civil rights and lying about it.
AWOL on funding education and lying about it.

The list goes on, but maybe Bush is just AWOL on honesty.