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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve dietrich who wrote (537368)	2/9/2004 4:26:54 AM
From: AK2004	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

re: "There may be no evidence, but I did report. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been honorably discharged." More Cartesean logic from the master of spin. Since when in US one is presumed guilty until proven innocent?

To: steve dietrich who wrote (537368)	2/9/2004 10:53:54 AM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 769670

Military Records May Be a Campaign Land Mine February 5, 2004 CQ TODAY By Craig Crawford, CQ Columnist nytimes.com TUCSON, Ariz. -- Sen. John Kerry has touched a raw nerve at the White House, hinting he will not shy away from making a campaign issue of President Bush's military service during the Vietnam War. Kerry's deft handling of this matter is one reason Democratic voters are finding him to be the more skilled candidate to run against Bush. Answering news media questions during a campaign stop in Tucson on Feb. 1, the Massachusetts Democrat gingerly opened the way to debating a one-year gap in the public record of Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. "I don't know what the facts are with respect to the president's service," the decorated veteran said on a Tucson tarmac. "I know issues were raised previously. It's not up to me to talk about them or question them at this point. . . . It's up to the president and the military to answer those questions." At first glance, this statement might seem bland and evasive. But notice how he drives the story forward without risking a backlash. He makes no accusations, but in the end he puts the ball squarely in Bush's court, saying it is "up to the president" to resolve the matter. When directly asked if he would make a campaign issue of Bush's military service, Kerry kept his options open. "I don't know yet," he said. "I haven't made up my mind." Kerry's cautious comments were enough to mobilize Bush campaign operatives who were already seething about ham-fisted comments from other Democratic leaders. Democratic National Committee Chairman Terence R. McAuliffe accused Bush of being "AWOL." Former Sen. Max Cleland, who lost three limbs in Vietnam, eagerly raises the issue in campaign speeches for Kerry. The Georgia Democrat obviously enjoys the payback for Republican attacks that led to his defeat in 2002, when television ads for opponent Saxby Chambliss equated Cleland's votes against homeland security legislation with a lack of commitment to national security. Bush and his aides explain he did report to an Alabama unit of the National Guard during the period in question, from May 1972 to May 1973. But no paper record has surfaced that documents Bush's attendance. While these questions were raised in the 2000 campaign, Bush's military service was not relevant to voters in peace time. Now that he has sent American soldiers to their deaths, Bush faces a political land mine if he cannot prove he fulfilled his own military obligations. Instead of providing information to clear up the questions, the Bush campaign deployed surrogates to go on television talk shows and attack Democrats for maligning the National Guard as a whole. Republican attacks focused on McAuliffe instead of Kerry because the front-runner for the Democratic nomination gave them no incendiary words to target. Kerry is uniquely positioned to make this issue stick. His war record is a strength that has rallied Vietnam veterans to his side and provided much of the boost to victory in early primary states. Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, also a Vietnam veteran, has the credentials to raise the issue. But in another sign of his amateur status, Clark failed to quickly distance himself from heated comments by one of his top backers. Filmmaker Michael Moore recently called Bush a "deserter" when introducing Clark at a campaign event. A lack of military background muzzles Kerry's other foes on this issue. Kerry's sophistication in handling Bush's military background is a trait that drew Iowans to his side and led them to produce a political earthquake in their Jan. 19 caucuses. When the history of this campaign is written, Kerry's Iowa upset likely will be the overarching story. The Democrats of Iowa repudiated Howard Dean and altered the course of the campaign. The vaunted New Hampshire primary proved to be little more than a ratification of what Iowans did. As soon as Iowa made Kerry a winner, the polls in New Hampshire showed voters almost instantly moving to his column. So what happened in Iowa? How did Howard Dean fall from grace so dramatically? It turned out that Democratic voters in Iowa were deeply serious about finding the most skilled candidate to take on Bush. While they enjoyed Dean's passion, they found Kerry the least likely to make himself a target and still take on the Bush campaign machine. If Kerry becomes the Democratic nominee, his military service could be decisive in the general election campaign. It was a turning point in Iowa. While many of us covering the campaign grew weary of Kerry's constant references to his Vietnam service, there was no mistaking its effect on less attentive Iowa voters who decided late. Kerry is rallying Vietnam veterans to a degree not seen since the war was fought. Veterans are proving to be his campaign's most dedicated volunteers. None of this would matter if the nation were not at war. But this election promises to be as focused on foreign policy as any in modern history. The Bush campaign is wise to pounce now and try to divert attention away from a focus on the president's military record. The White House would much rather talk about Kerry's Senate voting record, which is among the most liberal in Congress. Even the savviest pros in the Bush camp know they would lose a contest with Kerry over military records. Craig Crawford is a special contributor to Congressional Quarterly and a news analyst for MSNBC, CNBC and "The Early Show" on CBS. He can be reached at (202) 419-8644 or at ccrawford@cq.com. Craig Crawford is a special contributor to Congressional Quarterly and a news analyst for MSNBC, CNBC and "The Early Show" on CBS. He can be reached at (202) 419-8644 or at ccrawford@cq.com. Copyright 2004