What Is Bush Hiding? (Dionne / WP)

[struggle4progress]

It is to be welcomed that President Bush wants to clear up questions about his National Guard service. He wants more details out there, and good for him. This story should be laid to rest, and the one person who can do it is named George W. Bush.

Up to now, Bush has been interested in a rather narrow aspect of the story. He wanted Dan Rather and CBS News to come clean about whether they used fake documents in reporting on the president's Guard service back in the 1970s. <snip>

The New York Times put the relevant questions on the table yesterday in a lengthy review of Bush's life in 1972, "the year George W. Bush dropped off the radar screen," as the Times called it. The issues about Bush's National Guard service, the Times wrote, include "why he failed to take his pilot's physical and whether he fulfilled his commitment to the guard." <snip>

First, except for John McCain, Republicans were conspicuously happy to have a front group spread untruths about John Kerry's Vietnam service in August and watch as the misleading claims were amplified by the supposedly liberal media. The Vietnam era was relevant as long as it could be used to raise character questions about Kerry. But as soon as the questioning turned to Bush's character, we were supposed to call the whole thing off. Why? Because the media were supposed to question Kerry's character but not Bush's. <snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37081-2004Sep20.html

[unblock]

1. he didn't "fail to take a physical"

he "COULDN'T PASS A DRUG TEST."

that's the spin we should be using.
it has the merit of being the truth.

[struggle4progress]

3. In my experience, questions often work better than assertions.

Yes, W's coke problem was commonly known in Texas at one time. But many people, who don't already know that, are likely to view the assertion as a slander.

Anybody, however, can ask questions: Why didn't he take that flight physical? Say, are those cocaine stories true? Could that be related?

[unblock]

4. phrasing it as a question is fine

my point was that we hear far too often that he failed to take a physical, which sounds nowhere near as scandalous as we would like.

[Catfight]

7. Yuppers, Bush, born with a silver spoon up his nose. n/t

[For PaisAn]

2. Excellent

Mr. Dionne has done a superb job of returning the focus to where it belongs. And he exposes the hypocrisy of Bush & Co. on this issue. Mr. Bush, answer the questions!

[pa28]

5. What is Bush Hiding?

A question that goes far beyond his N.G. physical. Hardly a week goes by without the discovery Bush has been hiding from the public on some new issue. Last week it was intelligence memo on Iraq, now it's the missed physical, next week it may be his insider trading, cocaine habits or shady Texas Rangers deal.

The point is who knows? His fixers and cleaners have a full time job keeping his skeletons in the closet but some escape anyway.

[MissMarple]

6. Character is still an important issue.

"But the Bush campaign has made clear it wants this election to focus on character and leadership. If character is the issue, the president's life, past and present, matters just as much as John Kerry's."

No real pilot would voluntarily jeopardize his flight status.on a whim. This points directly to his character, his sense of responsibility, his patriotism. And now he hopes that playing the cheerleader to mask a failing war effort and a dismal economic future will give him four more years. I think he has always viewed the American people with contempt. He reminds me of the Elmer Gantry type of religious charlatan. For the most part I think he and Karl think we're just a bunch of suckers.