Bush deserted National Guard

[Jakub]

http://www.awolbush.com/

Wow.

Now that's pretty anti-republican in general, but this is news to me. How come his questionable military record has never come up during the election or war?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A4291-2000Nov2&notFound=true

That's the Washington Post on that. So it's not quite a smear campaign.

[Jason McCullough]

Pretty depressing that people only hear about this now. Some of us have known all along. :D

[Mike Cathcart]

This did come up during the election. I'm surprised more people hadn't heard this, because I had, and I pay very little attention to politics or any news that doesn't involve either the music or gaming industries.

[Anonymous]

It's the infamous "missing year" that Bush can't account for.

The Dems tried to hammer on it, but one of their problems is that while Gore did go to Vietnam, he did so as an Army correspondent, prompting much speculation that he got preferential treatment being the son of a prominent US Senator.

The other thing was that Bush admitted he did a lot of bad things in his youth, but now that he's been "born again," most conservatives are willing to forgive him his past transgressions, including the never-admitted-but-everyone-knows-he-did-it coke snorting.

[Jason McCullough]

Pretty much.

[Anonymous]

I forget, which branch of the military did Clinton serve in?

[Jason McCullough]

I don't recall Clinton selling himself on a national security platform, or going AWOL. The GOP suddenly found religion on the subject of draft dodging, too.

[Anonymous]

Gore drove up to New Jersey to volunteer for Vietnam, in the said hope that the recruiters wouldn't know who he was.

But he served as a reporter, and most people didn't take that very seriously.

[DennyA]

Yeah, this did come up during the election.

But the same "liberal media" that didn't harp on Ronald Reagan's team stealing Jimmy Carter's debate notes (a transgression as serious as Watergate, yet few even know about it) saw fit to gloss over the story.

Liberal media my moderate behind.

[TomChick]

Ronald Reagan's team stealing Jimmy Carter's debate notes

Wha...?

You mean they were leaked to Reagan's team under suspicious circumstances? Or someone from Reagan's staff broke into Carter's HQ and rifled through the filing cabinets?

I've never heard this one, but my urban legand flag is popping up.

-Tom

[Tyjenks]

You said Reagan's staff. heehee.

[Jason McCullough]

I don't think anyone's been able to pin down how they got their hands on Carter's briefing book, but it did (http://www.fair.org/media-beat/010308.html) happen.

Six months ago, when Gore campaign adviser Tom Downey received a package containing the Bush campaign material prior to the first debate, he immediately turned it over to the FBI. In sharp contrast, 20 years earlier, top operatives in Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign pored through Jimmy Carter's lengthy briefing book swiped from the White House. Back then, behind the scenes, Will was part of the effort to make the most of the illegally obtained papers.

Will looked at the Carter briefing materials and then helped coach Reagan for a crucial debate with Carter. Promptly after the debate, Will went on "Nightline" to praise Reagan for a "thoroughbred performance." Viewers had no way to know of Will's involvement in prepping Reagan for the debate.

For years, Will was able to cover up the deception. But in mid-1983, the "Debategate" story finally broke, and he took some flak.

At first, Newsweek merely mentioned in passing that Will had been shown the stolen briefing book "and thought nothing of it." A week later, devoting several sentences to the intrigue of its star columnist, the magazine reported that he "saw the Carter materials" and later helped to prepare Reagan "for his confrontation with Carter. Then, in his role as television commentator, Will gave Reagan a favorable review for his performance -- without explaining that he had personally taken part in the event."

During the summer of 1983, various media pillars rumbled with disapproval. As Newsweek observed, "some of Will's fellow journalists have heatedly criticized his partisan role. Jack Nelson, Washington bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, called it 'outrageous.'"

The New Republic declared Will to be "the one person who has been most embarrassed by Debategate" and faulted him for two aspects of his behavior: "Appearing on ABC's 'Nightline' the night of the debate, Mr. Will was one of the commentators who awarded the 'victory' to Mr. Reagan; he posed as a referee without ever making it clear that he had been one of the seconds." In addition, the columnist "knew about the purloined briefing books" but kept the knowledge to himself. "Mr. Will said nothing about this on 'Nightline'; nor did he write about it."

[Tyjenks]

Reagan's staff was in Carter's briefs. :twisted:

EDIT: Oh no. I just posted that while Phil Steinmeyer was here. I am terribly ashamed.

[DennyA]

Interesting Ted Rall column I discovered while doing Tom's Google searching for him (which I see Jason beat me to the punch on...):

http://www.motherjones.com/rall/1.html

Tom, I don't think they ever determined who actually did it. Because there was no significant investigation. But George Will was the man who briefed Reagan using the book, and gave him the zinger retorts to things they knew Carter would say that helped him win the debate.

[edit: name fix]

[Jason McCullough]

*Ted* Rall.

Yeah, that's one of his better pieces, back before he got on the batshit gas pipeline kick.

[Anonymous]

I was working at the Department of Veteran's Affairs back during the 2000 election, so I asked some of the military guys there about this at the time.

The consensus was that National Guard units, especially back then, were often so screwed up records-wise that it would be very easy for a person to show up, put in their time, and leave without making much of an impression. Doesn't mean Bush absolutely served his time, but it doesn't rule it out either.

[Lunch of Kong]

including the never-admitted-but-everyone-knows-he-did-it coke snorting.

Is coke snorting an Austin thing, or is it widespread across the USA? I mean, I never saw so much as the butt end of a marijuana joint when I lived in Turkey. But then I came to Austin, and at the first party I went to, a couple of girls prepared a mound of Columbian Marching Powder on a hand mirror and invited everyone around to join in.

I was shocked at that initially, but now I view it as part of the native rituals here. I still think it's dirty, though.

[Anonymous]

I mean, I never saw so much as the butt end of a marijuana joint when I lived in Turkey.

Might have something to do with this (read the plot summary if you haven't seen it):

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0077928

[Mark Asher]

This did come up during the election. I'm surprised more people hadn't heard this, because I had, and I pay very little attention to politics or any news that doesn't involve either the music or gaming industries.

It's one of those things that puts the lie to the idea of a "liberal" press. Remember how much negative press Clinton got over draft-dodging? If the allegations about Bush are true, it's far worse IMO. Not only did he get preferential treatment to avoid dangerous military service, he was guilty of being AWOL from his cushy assignment. Yet this got very little play in the "liberal" press. Had Clinton been the party in question, it would have dogged him throughout his campaign. Same thing with Clinton's admitted use of marijuana vs. Bush's refusal to say he never used cocaine. Imagine if Clinton refused to say he never used cocaine?

[XPav]

Yeah, too bad the press gave Bush a free pass. We could have had another round of "didn't inhale" jokes.

The majority of the press isn't liberal, it isn't conservative, its lazy and incompetent.

[Anonymous]

I remember the coverage of the first gulf war, when everyone was bitching they didn't have any access.

Course they never even left the hotel in Riyhad and it ended up that indie freelancers made the real news.

The state of the american press is pathetic

[Anonymous]

http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/images/war.138.gif

[Anonymous]

I remember the coverage of the first gulf war, when everyone was bitching they didn't have any access.

Course they never even left the hotel in Riyhad and it ended up that indie freelancers made the real news.

Not quite so. Bob Simon of CBS news and his crew went out alone into the desert and got captured by the Iraqis and ended up spending the war in an Iraqi prison, if I remember correctly.

Both sides put restrictions on journalists. In Baghdad, each reporter is babysat by Iraqi officials, just like there's a liason with reporters attached to US units. Though it does seem like the US military is trying to bend over backwards to bring the press along with the front line units.

btw, the CNN crew just got kicked out of Baghdad today, though I know for sure that the NY Times reporter is still there.

[wumpus]

http://www.defectiveyeti.com/images/breaking_news.jpg

[Rywill]

Funny.