Democrats: Bush Never in Air Force
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James Joyner | Monday, September 13, 2004 |
Matt Drudge reports,
Faster than a CBS eye can blink, dogged Dems are set to take to the airwaves anew hoping to keep questions about President Bush’s National Guard duty in play, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.
“George W. Bush’s campaign literature claimed that he ’served in the U.S. Air Force.’ The only problem? He didn’t,” slams a new DNC press release set for distribution.
“George Bush has a clear pattern of lying about his military service,” DNC Communications Director Jano Cabrera blasts in the new release. “From 1978 to the present day, George Bush has refused to tell voters the truth about his service. It’s time for the President to come clean.”
“Flyers distributed to Texas voters during Bush’s failed Congressional race say ‘he served in the U.S. Air Force and the Texas Air National Guard.’ But according to Air Force officials, Air National Guardsmen are not counted as members of the active-duty Air Force.”
Drudge has a PDF of “Memorandum of Understanding” dated 27 May 68 wherein Bush agrees to enter “active duty for training” for 120 days. I’m not sure whether this ends the technical debate, since there is some dispute as to whether “active duty for training” amounts to being “in the Air Force” as opposed to “in the Air National Guard.” It remains irrelevant, regardless, since anyone not predisposed to take everything uttered by Bush as a lie would concede that being on active status for, cumulatively, over a year for pilot training amounts to being “in the Air Force.”
Now, whether Drudge’s document is authentic is another question. I’m pretty sure they didn’t have Adobe Acrobat back in ‘68. Developing. . . .
Update (1722): Michael Demmons thinks this is more evidence that Kerry is going to lose.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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We knew about the charges and Bush was elected Governor. We knew about the charges and Bush was elected President. I have never been in the military, but the thing that convinces me (that there is nothing serious about the AWOL business) is that the military loves Bush. He might fool me but I doubt he could fool them.
I delayed entry and my original enlistment was in the National Guard. My ADT (active duty for training) orders stated that I was put on active duty with the consent of my state's governor. When I got to the reception battalion, I surrendered my pink ID and got a green ID (which I turned back in for a pink one at the end of AIT.) We did sound off with our last 4 and National Guard (I don't recall exactly what the USAR people said in the chow line.)
This is stupid - I was in the USAF, graduated from the USAF Academy ('76), and flew the F-4 Phantom for over 10 years. Those of us on active duty still regarded those who served in the Guard or the Reserves as being in the USAF. That is how we regarded it; active, Guard, Reserves. Different, but all still USAF.
Dumb shit democrats!
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