If *I* was asking the questions . . .

[mbali]

Mr. President, earlier this year, when reminded that you have produced no evidence proving that you fulfilled your National Guard obligations, you said, "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. The military doesn't work that way. I got an honorable discharge, and--and I did show up in Alabama." (Meet the Press, February 8, 2004)

So, Mr. President, if the military "doesn't operate that way" - if it doesn't just say a soldier did something without any verification, don't the military's repeated assertions that Sen. Kerry served honorably and heroically speak for themselves?

Given that, as Commander-in-Chief, shouldn't you support the troops - past and present - by standing up to the Swift Boat Veterans and demand that they stop the smears of Sen. Kerry's record and integrity, which is also an attack on the credibility of the military itself?

And, Mr. President, if you won't call on the Swift Boat Veterans and other supporters of yours to stop second-guessing the military's assessments of Sen. Kerry's performance in Vietnam, shouldn't you stop claiming that your honorable discharge is conclusive proof that you fulfilled your obligations and allow your own National Guard service to undergo similarly vigorous scrutiny?