AWOL George: The worst election year politics?
Doubtful. The worst election year politics is the ad stating that those who don't support Shrub+Policies support terrorism. That's the lowest...so far.
sfgate.com
"The White House struck back Tuesday at Democratic critics questioning President Bush's record of military service at the height of the Vietnam war, saying the issue "represents the worst of election-year politics."
"It is outrageous and baseless," presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said in response to suggestions that Bush shirked his military duties when he was in the Texas Air National Guard in 1972.
Military service has emerged as an issue in the campaign for the White House. Sen. John Kerry, the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark are decorated veterans and remind campaign audiences of their service.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said Bush was "AWOL" during the Vietnam conflict, while former Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., has criticized Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. Clark has criticized Bush for his remark challenging enemy forces to "bring 'em on" earlier in postwar Iraq.
Bush was a pilot in the Texas guard during Vietnam but never flew in battle. "Only someone who hasn't seen war firsthand would ever say anything as fatuous as 'bring 'em on,"' Clark said earlier in the campaign....
The 187th did not fly F-102s, so Bush did not go to the base as a pilot. After missing a required physical exam and being out of the cockpit so long, he lost his flight credentials in Alabama.
Retired Gen. William Turnipseed, a commander at the base, said during the 2000 campaign he never saw Bush appear for duty. Bush, however, says he remembers meeting Turnipseed and performing drills at the base.
Bush's campaign staff searched for records that would show he was actually there, but concluded none of those records survived...." |
