MSNBC's "Imus In The Morning," 2/3/04 (Excerpt from RNC Research w/Sen McCain interview) MUST READ

Republican National Committee ^ | Feb 3, 2004 | RNC Research

[PhiKapMom]

THEY SAID IT!

RNC RESEARCH
February 3, 2004

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MSNBC's "Imus In The Morning," 2/3/04

DON IMUS: So Senator Kerry, sort of, subtly brought up yesterday, and I guess apparently Terry McAuliffe, who came from under some rock some place probably -- but anyway, they brought up this question about the president's military service and whether, in fact, there was -- whether he was AWOL from the Alabama National Guard. Are those appropriate questions, and should the president answer those questions and clear this up?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ): That issue came up in the last election cycle. I think they were responded to. If this turns into a nasty campaign, clearly they have to respond to it. But, look, I believe that service in the National Guard is honorable service. There are thousands and thousands of National Guardsmen and women who are in Iraq as we speak, and so to somehow denigrate service in the National Guard is totally inappropriate, and I think there would be a backlash to it if they pursued that.

IMUS: I don't think they're doing that. I think what they're -- the question is, it's fine to be in the National Guard if you go to the meetings. I don't think he went to the meetings. I think that's the charge.

MCCAIN: Well, but that charge was never proven, and again, it was brought up in the primary that President Bush and I were in. I never pursued it. I never asked questions, but there were questions asked by the media about it. I don't know. You know, all is fair in love and war, and maybe they'll have to answer those questions again. But everything I know is that President Bush served honorably in the National Guard, and if you're going to make an allegation that somebody didn't, you better have some pretty good proof besides just throwing it out there. You see my point?

IMUS: Sort of.

MCCAIN: Well, look, I mean, you can accuse anybody of anything. But the burden of proof is on the person who is making the accusation.

IMUS: Well, that's not the way it works. You know that. That's not the way it works.

MCCAIN: Look, I know that President Bush has a record of honorable service during the Vietnam War in the National Guard where he also went through pilot training and flew a rather difficult airplane to fly and did well. And that's what I know about his service, and I will believe that until somebody proves otherwise. I mean, you can't say that you're guilty until you prove yourself innocent.

IMUS: I've always said that he went to enough meetings to learn how to fly one of those planes.

MCCAIN: Yes. And it's a difficult airplane to fly.

IMUS: But if he got transferred to the Alabama National Guard for some reason and then didn't show up for any of those meetings, I don't think...

MCCAIN: But, see, I don't know that that's the case.

IMUS: If you don't know that that's the case, that means it's never cleared up then.

MCCAIN: Everything that I've heard -- every bit of information I've ever heard, I never got into it because I wasn't that interested, is that he served honorably and well. And I assume that to be the case.

[Ronaldus Magnus Reagan]

This Bush-Kerry war service reminds me of the Dan Quayle-Bill Clinton war service debate in the late 80's early 90's. I remember Ted Koppel on "NightLine" giving Dan Quayle a hard time about his record but gave Bill Clinton a complete pass on his interview. It was just another example of ABC's liberal bias that is sometimes subtle.

[prairiebreeze]

Doesn't this really mean that the Clinturds and McAwful are challenging the National Guard itself? Bush was awarded an Honorable Discharge. Questioning that, seems to question the judgement of the unit commander and Guard itself.

It's thinly veiled contempt for the military IMO in addition to it's obvious political motives.

Prairie

[kabar]

You see, they are letting the issue be Bush and his supposed non service. This is being done to scare the republicans away from attacking Kerry for his left wing behavior after returning from Vietnam. The repubs need to strongly attack Kerry for claiming, without justification, that the American soldiers in Vietnam were war criminals. The dems are scaring the repubs out of it, and even getting the bonus of going on the offense against Bush.

You are exactly right. I would only add that the Dems don't want anyone to examine Kerry's war record, which is also worthy of scrutiny. Four months in Vietnam, three superfiical "wounds", and Kerry's initiation of a request to be reassigned Stateside using an administrative rule about being wounded three times. The best defense is a good offense.

[hoosiermama]

Here's a new thread on the subject you might want to visit.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1070713/posts

[Delta-Tango]

is probably going to leave more doubt in some people's minds.

McCain was trying, but he doesn't have a real answer anymore than the rest of us. The response four years ago was muddled at best, and it never was a dealbreaker but an argument could be made it was a small part of what made it so close. Rove can come up with extra bucks for the NEA, a dingbat amnesty-on-the-installment-plan for illegal aliens, and can't come up with a reasoned and intelligent explanation of that missing year? I thought he was supposed to be some genius type. When all is said and done, it will not win or the lose the election for the GOP this year either. I'd be surpised if it has "legs".... But the way this was handled then and now makes you wonder who the hell is in charge. What the party DOESN'T need this year is a campaign subjected to "death by a thousand cuts."

[PhiKapMom]

For everytime I have found IMUS to be funny, there are plenty of times I cannot stand the man and what he has to say. Glad I didn't see this when I got up this morning!

[USCG-RET]

mystery-ak:
"...Imus is an idiot....referring to the Guard's monthly duty as *meetings*..."

mystery, Bush has called them that too...

[blackie]

The rats and their toadies in the media are attempting to smear GWB 24/7 ~ they are desperate!

[frithguild]

Campaign 101 - Dims have gone from "Throw the bums out" to "We could do better."

[Alberta's Child]

1. When you started seeing stories suggesting that these WMDs had been moved to Syrua.

2. When the U.S. military stopped looking for them.

[PhiKapMom]

Don't get me wrong on McCain -- he always does the little word here or there that is irritating but for him this was a major deal to support the President which shocked me.

[hoosiermama]

YES! Back to the play ground...."Well you are too" philosophy!....

So much of the dems behavior can be compared to an elementary school playground. Which leaved the adults (R) to patrol it.

[mystery-ak]

LOL....my hubby is in a *meeting* right now in Iraq.

[PhiKapMom]

IMUS: I've always said that he went to enough meetings to learn how to fly one of those planes.

Don't imagine that pilots who have gone through pilot training would appreciate IMUS' remarks that they were going to meetings. What a total jerk!

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks much for the link!

[rintense]

McAwful is one sorry f_ck if he thinks the National Guard isn't the military. One of my brothers, a proud member of the Oklahoma Nat'l. Guard, served in Gulf War I. My other brother, a member of the Michigan Nat'l Guard, just left for a stint in Bosnia as a UN Peacekeeper. So Terry McAwful can kiss my ass. My brothers combined have faced more real danger in their lives than Terry has seen driving through the streets of DC.

[rintense]

McAwful is one sorry f_ck if he thinks the National Guard isn't the military. One of my brothers, a proud member of the Oklahoma Nat'l. Guard, served in Gulf War I. My other brother, a member of the Michigan Nat'l Guard, just left for a stint in Bosnia as a UN Peacekeeper. So Terry McAwful can kiss my ass. My brothers combined have faced more real danger in their lives than Terry has seen driving through the streets of DC.

[PhiKapMom]

Kerry knowingly gave false testimony to Congress and participated in a fraud.

You are so right! We do need an investigation into Kerry and his taking non-soldiers pretending to be soldiers to the hearing. Where are the media stories about that fact?

[USCG-RET]

international:
"I thought this crap was disproved already. Am I wrong?"

No, it hasn't been disproved yet. But here's what'll happen:
Bush will let this get talked about more and more...he'll let it become the big issue. Make all the 'rats holler about it...Dan Blather and CNN too.
THEN he'll release the records...pay-stubs, flight records, recipts from the base PX...everything. This is the miliary...there's a HUGE paper trail here. Bush is just waiting to dump it all out to make the 'rats look like fools.
I give it two or three weeks...

[hchutch]

My response:
"Do deserters get honorable discharges?"

Or how about this:
"Are you saying the New Tork Times got it wrong when they determined the charges had no validity?"