Boston Globe Story's Out: Bush fell short on duty at Guard-DEVASTATING!

[mbali]

Records Show Pledges Unmet

In February, when the White House made public hundreds of pages of President Bush's military records, White House officials repeatedly insisted that the records prove that Bush fulfilled his military commitment in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.

But Bush fell well short of meeting his military obligation, a Globe reexamination of the records shows: Twice during his Guard service -- first when he joined in May 1968, and again before he transferred out of his unit in mid-1973 to attend Harvard Business School -- Bush signed documents pledging to meet training commitments or face a punitive call-up to active duty.

He didn't meet the commitments, or face the punishment, the records show. The 1973 document has been overlooked in news media accounts. The 1968 document has received scant notice. On July 30, 1973, shortly before he moved from Houston to Cambridge, Bush signed a document that declared, ''It is my responsibility to locate and be assigned to another Reserve forces unit or mobilization augmentation position. If I fail to do so, I am subject to involuntary order to active duty for up to 24 months. . . " Under Guard regulations, Bush had 60 days to locate a new unit.

But Bush never signed up with a Boston-area unit. In 1999, Bush spokesman Dan Bartlett told the Washington Post that Bush finished his six-year commitment at a Boston area Air Force Reserve unit after he left Houston. Not so, Bartlett now concedes. ''I must have misspoke," Bartlett, who is now the White House communications director, said in a recent interview.


http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/09/08/bush_fell_short_on_duty_at_guard/

[Jackpine Radical]

1. ''I must have misspoke,"

They have such interesting ways of saying, "I lied," don't they?

[mbali]

2. Sidestepped?

Bartlett, in a statement to the Globe last night, sidestepped questions about Bush's record. In the statement, Bartlett asserted again that Bush would not have been honorably discharged if he had not ''met all his requirements." In a follow-up e-mail, Bartlett declared: ''And if he hadn't met his requirements you point to, they would have called him up for active duty for up to two years."

That assertion by the White House spokesman infuriates retired Army Colonel Gerald A. Lechliter, one of a number of retired military officers who have studied Bush's records and old National Guard regulations, and reached different conclusions.

''He broke his contract with the United States government -- without any adverse consequences. And the Texas Air National Guard was complicit in allowing this to happen," Lechliter said in an interview yesterday. ''He was a pilot. It cost the government a million dollars to train him to fly. So he should have been held to an even higher standard."

Don't you love hearing "he wouldn't have been honorably discharged if he hadn't met all his requirements" - the same crowd that claims that Kerry didn't earn his medals?

[TruthIsAll]

9. ''He broke his contract with the United States government ..."

About wraps it up.

[mbali]

11. Now it's time for the U.S. government to break its contract with HIM

[lanparty]

12. The man is the official spokesman for the president ...

... if HE lies, the president has lied. They know this damn well.

[NightOwwl]

13. Misleads and the misleading misleaders who tell them. n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

54. Sidesteps and the sidestepping sidesteppers

who sidestep them.

[SidDithers]

58. "Misspeaks and the Misspeaking Misspeakers who Misspoke" nt

Sid

[BootinUp]

3. As much as I think this story should be taken seriously

Somehow I just don't think our fellow Americans will give a crap.

[mbali]

4. I don't know . . .

Bush
- "gamed" the system.

- signed commitments he didn't keep.

- "broke his contract with the United States government."

- was paid for work he didn't do.

Bartlett admits he didn't tell the truth - oops, "misspoke." (Funny - Bush never corrected him, did he?)

This needs to be hammered and hammered and hammered.

[gauguin57]

7. Unfortunately, I think this won't be as devastating to Bush as we

had hoped. I think a LOT of people won't give a crap. I'd LOVE to be proven wrong, though.

Bush stood there with a bullhorn in the rubble of 9/11. He's sending soldiers all over the place to protect us from "terra." Seriously, a lot of people are going to think that way, and just not care that Bush didn't do his duty back when he was a wild kid.

WE see the hypocrisy. THEY wouldn't see it if it bit them on the patootie.

I just hope it sways some undecideds who really want to vote for Kerry but aren't quite there yet.

[Pirate Smile]

15. A lie said by him in describing his service last Spring or while

running for Prez in 2000 would help bring it up to date but it is still relevant.

[belle]

24. It needs to be framed the right way.

"He was AWOL then and he was AWOL on 9/11. He didn't do his job then; he's not doing it now. He didn't protect us as a soldier; he didn't protect us as Commander-in-Chief on 9/11; he's not protecting the soldiers he sent to fight in Iraq. He broke his promises then, and he'll break them again. How many more times do our soldiers need to be let down by George Bush? How many times must America be deserted?"

[mbali]

27. Or . . .

No one is questioning President Bush's service in the Air National Guard. We're sure that when he showed up, he performed admirably. I honor that service.

But there are legitimate questions about whether Bush fulfilled his commitment to the United States government during a time of war, after the government invested more than a million dollars to train him to serve stateside in return for not being sent into combat.

And there are also serious questions about whether President Bush has been straight with the American people about his service. To this day, he has not come clean about what he did, where he was, and where he wasn't. It's no longer enough for him to say, "I served. I got an honorable discharge." It's time for some answers.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

52. Very well framed, belle.

[progressivebydesign]

28. No kidding.. the sheeple teared up watching the film of Bush...

on a baseball mound!!! There are some that will dismiss this away, just as they dismissed Rush's drug addiction and crimes. They don't want Bush to be found out, they don't want to give up the tax cuts.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

51. Keep the pressure on. It may also make some Republicans stay home.

[ruggerson]

5. This goes right to Bush's credibility

Americans will indeed care. IF this is coupled with an all out assault that he LIED about being in the Alabama National Guard, it then becomes part of the overarching message:

BUSH IS A LIAR

[mbali]

8. Right! He "gamed" the system and then lied about it and then allowed

his spokesperson to "mispeak" about it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. that is why they went after Kerry's service

now it will look as if they are getting even


Disgusting

[Nashyra]

19. This why they went after Kerry's service first

so that it would look like payback or sour grapes and guarantee that is how the media will report it. I think ultimately it will hurt him. We need to point out with all the finger pointing going on towards Kerry he could have stopped it. He didn't. We need to point out that he has never had respect for the armed services that's why he allowed the smears on McCain, Cleland and Kerry. His record proves it.

[DemMother]

36. One thing that might make a difference is that it's the media

originating the story--not some outside group like the Slime Boat Liars. It was ridiculous the way the talking heads covered that story--like it was a he said, she said debate. In the end the Liars were exposed and Kerry had the evidence on his side. I'd like to see what Bush is able to come up with to refute this.

His "honorable" discharge will undoubtedly be one argument, but it seems the Boston Globe has already talked to military people who acknowledged that it doesn't necessarily mean you put in your time--nor do pay stubs (especially if you're a privileged white boy). If Bush can't produce anyone who actually saw him there, it's going to look bad. Plus, I think the part of the story about his promise to enroll in the guard in Boston--the one Bartlett initially lied about--proves his behavior was part of a pattern.

[City Lights]

50. His "honorable" discharge is meaningless.

He gamed the system to get in, and he gamed the system to get out. There is nothing honorable about his service, nor his discharge.

[NightOwwl]

23. As far as I am concerned

I don't care how it looks.

I think it's way past time for Bush to learn that he can't hide behind wealth, privilege, and mommy's apron strings any longer. It's time for him to feel the power of the smear.

[Guaranteed]

10. SEND THAT FUCKER TO IRAQ.

He owes us seven months.

Grab a helmet and an M-16, motherfucker. You're going.

[tridim]

20. Gawd, that would be sweet wouldn't it!

I have an image of some grunt flying over Faluja in a helicopter, with a boot on *'s back ordering, "Have fun George, see you in hell", kick...

[cheezus]

55. yep, this boy owes active duty time --- plus interest

He likes trucks, I bet he could drive in a convoy!

[AnnitaR]

14. Sheeple won't care...

Bush is a tough guy hero for fighting those guys that blew up the WTC...

Kerry is nothing but a flip-flopper that didn't deserve the medals he got in Vietnam.

I'm beginning to loathe the country in which I live. It's so utterly depressing sometimes how far we've fallen.

[Elwood P Dowd]

16. If Kerry doesn't jump on this like stink on sheet

then we deserve what we get. We will have nominated a war hero turned wimp who allows a drug-abusing, hard-drinking, draft-dodging, lying frat boy make him look like a fool.

[mbali]

17. Kerry can't jump on it - just say voters must decide, but story compelling

And then go back to talking about his issues (economy, Iraq) while his surrogates (which includes US) hammer this sucker till kingdom come.

[Lex]

18. You're right--the SURROGATES have to come out swinging tomorrow

and be all over the TV with it--hammering hard.

Carville, Begala, Bill Press, Gephardt, Dean, Clark, Brazile, and Joe Lockhart.

God, I hope they are ready to hit this softball out of the freakin' PARK.

[Elwood P Dowd]

29. Kerry has to do his part and show some toughness

Just a few sound bites. "They can say all they want about my medals in Vietnam, but where in hell were these two in 1969? They want to send your sons and daughters off to war in Iraq. They supported the war in Vietnam. Problem is, they found ways to avoid fighting in Vietnam, and their children sure as hell will never be found fighting in Iraq. Do as I say, not as I do. They're a patriotic bunch as long as they're not the ones doing the fighting."

I'm sure the campaign staff can come up with some nice jabs about this.

[ezekiel333]

37. WE are the SURROGATES!

Make it happen. Tell the world. It is our mission to tell the world that the "war resident" is a deserter. Why rely on someone else to stand up? Now is the time for US to do something other than offer advice, we need to write, email, call, say fucking something in public!

It is time to get mad, to fight, and to win America back from the depths of hell that W has taken us to. It is time to tell the republican rubes that their bullshit is just that. How many more American kids have to die? How many more Americans must go hungry, uninsured, and unprotected? How many more atrocities must this administration commit before we call bullshit? How many lies will you endure before you stand up? I call bullshit on bushco! Make it happen. Get pissed and get out there. We are the people, the "SURROGATES", and we can make a change.

[belle]

25. He should jump on it by saying it doesn't surprise him--it fits Bush's M.O

as president.

[grasswire]

21. same ole same ole

''It appears that no one wanted to hold him accountable," said retired Major General Paul A. Weaver Jr., who retired in 2002 as the Pentagon's director of the Air National Guard.

[usregimechange]

22. Huge! Wow! Lets spread the news systematically. nt

[progressivebydesign]

26. The partisan folks won't care.. mark my words..

They'll say it's just politics, and they trust him. It might help with some swing voters, or Democrats who are actually scared enough to vote for Bush... with all the terror rhetoric. I just have a feeling, even tho we all know this stuff is documented, that the Rush Limbaugh fans will dismiss it as a witch hunt.

Funny.. the official military documents show that Kerry did his service, contrary to what his critics say, and Bush did not do his service, contrary to what Bush's fans say.

[RevCheesehead]

30. GWB has consistently made pledges and broke them

Now in this campaign he talks about what he "will" do for America. How can we believe him now?

This is a life-long pattern. (Psychopathic liar!)


What if Kerry said:
"In this campaign, we have heard the term "flip-flop." Well, let's give them that one. GWB IS consistent. He has consistently made promises and pledges that have gone unfulfilled. Now we are learning that this is a life-long pattern of his. Let me ask you this: do you really believe George W. Bush will fulfill his campaign promises?"
:spank:

[Kimber Scott]

31. ''There were hundreds of guys like him who did the same thing," he said.

Bwahaha! Get real. 100s of guys aren't the POTUS!

[mbali]

33. 100s? How many guys were in the National Guard?

How many who couldn't get into the Guard went to Vietnam?

[gardenista]

32. NO SHOW BUSH- repeat after me, NO SHOW BUSH

This is what he's been doing all his life.

[Tatiana]

34. I want to hear this nonstop for the next month or so:

"He broke his contract with the United States government -- without any adverse consequences. And the Texas Air National Guard was complicit in allowing this to happen," Lechliter said in an interview yesterday. ''He was a pilot. It cost the government a million dollars to train him to fly. So he should have been held to an even higher standard."

We wasted a million dollars on this piece of shit, just so he wouldn't have to go to Vietnam. Where is Bush's sense of duty to his country, his sense of honor, his pride in service?

That's right, he doesn't have any.

The gloves are off, folks. Fuck this gentleman's shit. We need to hit this evil with everything we've got. Can't wait to hear Lockhart's response to this.

(Excuse the language, please.)

[Proud2BAmurkin]

35. DESERTER

.

[Democat]

38. There needs to be a government investigation into Bush's AWOL

How can they investigate Kerry's medals, but not investigate Bush going AWOL?

Democrats need to get tough if they want to win this - someone from a safe district is going to need to bring this up in Congress and the Senate!

[crickets]

41. How can they investigate Kerry's medals,

but not investigate Bush going AWOL?

Good point. Let's see if the media connects the same dots. I'm not holding my breath, but it would be oh so sweet if they did.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

53. There is no statute of limitations on desertion in wartime. . . . . nt

[Andromeda]

39. Maybe they should call him up now...

and send him to Iraq!

[Bluebear]

40. DESERTER! Kick

[alphafemale]

42. Defeat him. Then reassign his yellow behind to Falluhjah.

Time to fulfill your duty, *.
:grr:

[incapsulated]

43. What is encouraging about this...

The Globe aren't the only ones doing some investigative journalism on this topic, for once. The Washington Post and AP are as well. This may mean that it will be picked up by the TV media and get out there in a real way. Also, they can't attack Kerry for the story this time, since it is coming from the media, itself.

So... there's hope?

;)

[DeepModem Mom]

44. NYT's Bumiller spins, "standoff not resolved" --

After saying for months that all relevant documents about President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard had been made public, the Bush administration released what it called newly found records on Tuesday night showing that Mr. Bush flew 336 hours in a fighter jet and ranked in the middle of his flight training class.

The 17 pages of documents, released by the Pentagon, will not resolve the standoff between Mr. Bush and the Democrats, which is about where, when and how often Mr. Bush showed up for National Guard duty in Alabama in 1972 and 1973. The debate has become an issue in the presidential campaign as Democrats have accused Mr. Bush of shirking his Guard duty and the White House has countered that records show the president did not....

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/08/politics/campaign/08records.html

[DeepModem Mom]

45. kick

[Democrat 4 Ever]

47. Bush should especially be held accountable for his TANG

record this election - even more then the last. This time around he is calling up National Guard units, EXTENDING their tours, cutting benefits, and generally screwing up thousands of lives - while trying to explain why he cut and ran from his obligations during a war.

[Killarney]

46. Bottom Line:

Bush had no interest in fulfilling his obligation to his country.

He signed up, but did not fulfill.

[bigtree]

48. .

[Connie_Corleone]

49. DESERTER!!

[tomfodw]

56. Bush has been pulling this bush-league sh*t...

...his entire worthless life. And he's gotten away with it his entire worthless life, too, because of his Daddy's rich and influential friends. I'm sure by this time he honestly has no understanding of how he has been able to fail upwards and probably genuinely thinks he's the greatest American of his generation. (Reminds me of a National Lampoon magazine parody in the early 1970s, showing David Eisenhower and quoting him saying "I clawed my way to the top - why can't those punks do the same?")

The press has treated him with kid gloves his entire life. His desertion didn't derail him in 2000, I have no confidence that it will do so now. I hope I'm wrong.

[indie_voter]

57. He should be forced to complete his obligation now, Iraq needs him nt

[Bunny]

59. My boss did a tour in Nam.

I asked him how that happened, because he did not volunteer. He told me that he went to a small university, so he had a student deferrment. He decided after one year that he didn't care for this college, so he applied to transfer to another university for that coming fall term. In this interim of only a few months, before he received notice that his transfer was accepted, he lost his deferrment and was drafted and went to Nam.

Now, how the hell does Shrub get away with what he did? Don't answer that, it's rhetorical. :eyes:

[gasperc]

60. fuck, we've been screaming about Alabama and Boston is where he

really fucked himself, he was REQUIRED to sign up at a unit in Boston and never did!!!! And the Bush team has insisted that he fulfilled his SIX year commitment, let's see 1968 to 1973 is 5 years, not only is there time missing in-between, there is a whole year lopped off the end.

[GreenPartyVoter]

61. Send him to Iraq!