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Some light shed on Bush Guard service -Hundreds of files released; Dems say questions remain***The documents provided no obvious explanation for why Bush neglected to take a physical examination in 1972, resulting in loss of his status as a pilot.

Democrats said Friday the issue of Bush's Guard service had not been laid to rest.

"Each revelation of material from the Bush White House has raised more questions than it has answered. It remains to be seen if these newest documents will provide any answers," said Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Debra DeShong.

After sputtering as a political issue in 2000, the questions about Bush's Guard duty were resurrected recently by harsh charges from political opponents like Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe. He accused Bush of being absent without leave from the Guard during the period when he transferred from Texas to Alabama.

The Vietnam War combat hero record of Bush's likely Democratic election rival, U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, adds to the political mix.

The president's opponents focus on 1972, when Bush took a job with the campaign of Winton "Red" Blount.*** [and the article prceeds to go into great detail]

Kerry denies affair: 'It's untrue. Period' (and the Chronicle drops it)***John Kerry, making campaign rounds Friday in Madison, Wis., denied having had an extramarital affair.

Asked about the report by Internet Web site operator Matt Drudge, Kerry told reporters on his campaign: "I just deny it categorically. It's rumor. It's untrue. Period."

After denying the report, Kerry added: "And that's the last time I intend to."

Drudge, who broke the Monica Lewinsky scandal involving President Clinton, on Thursday said Kerry had had a two-year relationship, beginning in early 2001, with an unidentified young woman who had since left the country.

Meanwhile, the Democratic presidential front-runner gained more ground Friday with the promise of an endorsement by the AFL-CIO, the support of a former rival and fresh polls pointing toward victory in next week's Wisconsin primary.***

Story of purged Bush files has been around the block (but let's do it again)***A former Guard officer, Dennis Adams of Austin, did confirm Friday that Burkett told him about the records destruction in 1997. Adams said he was not surprised when Burkett told him what he'd overheard and seen.

"I have no doubt he is telling the truth," Adams said. "Bill is one of my heroes. He was trying to take on certain rotten SOBs inside the Guard."

Burkett and some friends from his Guard days have been involved in an ugly dispute with the Texas National Guard and officers appointed by then-Gov. Bush for several years.

One of those friends, Harvey Gough, said this week that he became so incensed at what he saw as malfeasance by the Guard's senior officers that he hired a private detective to delve into James' personal life. James is the son of former Gen. Chappy James, the first black four-star general.

Through a spokesman, James denied all of Burkett's charges.

Burkett, Gough, Adams and others have waged an ugly feud with the Guard over what they said was fraud, waste and corruption.

Burkett sued three officers in the Texas Guard in the late 1990s, claiming that they blocked him from receiving medical support after he went to Panama on a Guard-related mission and contracted a debilitating disease. Gough alleged in a lawsuit that he was subjected to anti-Semitic remarks from one of James' staffers, and when he complained, James retaliated by court-martialing him. Both lawsuits failed.***