Was Bush AWOL? Democrats Attack...and a Retired Naval Reserve Officer Responds

Hobbs Online ^ | 2/3/0 | William H. "Bill" Hobbs / Steve Houpt

[Michael Barnes]

These re-visited W AWOL stories are nothing more than a message.."Let's leave this alone during the general".

Kerry has way more to lose than President Bush over the whole military service thing.

Even if Rove were to use it, the left will simply say the "right" is bringing up old issues...blah...

Bottom line, Kerry may have served in Vietanm (did anyone know that???!!!!) but his demeanor afterwords speaks volumes; against him.

[OpusatFR]

This is hillarious. Kerry et al are attempting to smoke President Bush into reacting to these absurd allegations.

They need some reaction from him to keep pounding away at him because they have nothing.

Why doesn't the media ask this question of Kerry and the dems: Why are they so concerned with Vietnam. That was a disasterous democrat war and not applicable to the current situation. Leadership is not predicated on military service. If that were true, every president from Taft through FDR should not have been president. The next President in history with no military service was WJ Clinton.

But of course, the media whores never ask questions.

[CyberAnt]

Actually, there was a Hillary shill (Wolfson), who spilled the real reason they are attacking Bush with the AWOL stuff. Hannity ask him about the charge, and Wolfson said, "well, the republicans started it with the carrier landing". Can't you just hear some little kid saying WELL YOU STARTED IT!

The goal is to taint the carrier landing to the point President Bush will be afraid to use the video in his campaign. Wow! They are so afraid of that video, they are willing to tell lies about the President. Sooooo, how many other lies are they willing to tell ..?? Never mind .. don't answer that!

[CyberAnt]

But there was a transfer to Alabama. This is where Turnipseed says he never saw Bush .. but then he says he wasn't there himself .. which causes me to wonder if he knows what he's talking about. Evidently, Bush has records .. which he may now release and shut the smear down.

[CyberAnt]

No source .. no claim!!

[CyberAnt]

"Rove will use it"

What ..?? President Bush will decide if it gets used or not, and Rove will not have anything to say about it.

[backhoe]

-The Real Military Record of George W. Bush: Not Heroic, but Not AWOL, Either-The Original Story--

[backhoe]

The commentary ( click on source ) is the usual back & forth, but here's the kicker:

Why I don't think it's a big deal in three simple steps:

1 - the Air Force didn't think it was a big deal back in the day and they were a lot closer to the problem than we are. So if it was good enough for them it's good enough for me.

2 - he received an Honorable Discharge. An Honorable Discharge means you completed your service and performed honorably, meeting or exceeding the standards of performance and conduct. It cannot be awarded anyone who was AWOL or had an Unauthorized Absence prior to being discharged - that's a fact of military life. So if the Air Force didn't have a problem with his service and they saw fit to award him an Honorable Discharge, what's the big deal?

3 - most of the people who are suddenly so interested in GWB's service and wether he served his commitment to the armed forces are the same people who normally spit on the armed forces. I find their sudden concern for those wear the uniform (and those of us who have worn the uniform) to be slightly disconcerting and more than a tad disingenuous.

Posted by: Robert Modean at February 4, 2004 12:40 PM

[bullseye1911]

But on the brighter side, since THEY decided to refight Vietnam....

If only we could..........sigh

[ChadGore]

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In 1971 George W. Bush was wearing the uniform with pride and serving his country and supporting the troops.

In that same year, 1971, Kerry was desecrating our flag, called our troops baby killers, and was openly siding with our enemy.

[ChadGore]

[rintense]

Why does any of this matter anyway? According to Terry McAwful and John F'n Kerry, the National Guard isn't even part of our military!

[grania]

(remembering the '60s)

When the number thing came up, those who got a number that would mean a draft did all sorts of things to avoid it. A friend's boyfriend avoided the certainty of VietNam by his father's connections being used to get him a CoastGuard slot. The connections? His father was an Army recruiter!!

Another way to avoid the certainty of ground battle was to join the Navy. There were greater odds of avoiding direct shooting.

The very rich and the very bright got exemptions for graduate school. Those who could stand it and could do some Math and/or Science got exemptions to teach those subjects. Those who felt strongly enough risked their citizenship and abiltiy to return by leaving the US. The truly sleazy got bogus physical deferrments and then got into everyone's face with it by spending the war skiing in Aspen.

Another way to put off immediate time in the war was to join the National Guard or Reserves. Those slots were hard to come by, since they were in fact used as a delay tactic by many. Many opted for pilot training when they did that.

I knew two guys who signed up for ROTC for the pilot program...they knew there was a risk but they wanted to be pilots. They both ended up in the shooting war.

Senator Kerry didn't have to join; he's older than the draft system. It was a choice. He's at his best when they surround him with those he served with.

My questions with the GWB service thing are (1) did the two units he was assigned to fight in Viet Nam and (2)how common was it for those who got full pilot training to get out for grad school without the military first having them do some wartime?

I don't like this issue. World War II veterans got education, houses, and a lot of job opportunities when they returned. Since then, veterans haven't gotten their due. "Homeless veteran" should be an oxymoron. They are the ones who should be given houses, instead of subsidizing immigrants.

It's hard to convey real concern for today's veterans while dissing veterans of the past. It succeeded with McCain and that amputee Senator from the South. It's probably not a good idea to use that tactic a third time, especially since we're in a shooting war.

[OneCitizen]

It'll be hard to keep it up without getting the question turned on them: Why didn't you have a problem with Bill Clinton?

[OneCitizen]

Kerry's only 60; there was a draft throughout the 1950's and 60's. Kerry isn't older than the draft system.

[gatorbait]

That was meant as humor.. I was hitting the "source" like where the goblin pulled the info out of ....

[gatorbait]

Why does any of this matter anyway? According to Terry McAwful and John F'n Kerry, the National Guard isn't even part of our military!

That's okay, most of Kerry's witnesses had nothing to do with the military ,either. As for McAuliffe, well,think about a black hole......

[gatorbait]

we should have not hesitancy in bringing forth all of Kerry's treachery following his service in Vietnam. Followed by his gutting of intelligence, and the fact he opposed every major weapon system we now depend on. This should be like shooting fish in a barrel.

While we're at it, we also need to put Kerry's "support" for Veterans' issues on the table. Hopefully the morons supporting him will suddenly realize Kerry is acting like all Dems ,say soothing things, then do nothing about the problem, except exacerbate it.

[HenryLeeII]

Bush/National Guard ping!

[Missouri]

Bump.