BUSH--LIES, DAMNED LIES AND EXCUSES
by David Corn
published by DavidCorn.com
It takes chutzpah for George W. Bush, a onetime MIA Guardsman, to appear before the National Guard Association and attack John W. Kerry, a war hero. But the premise of the Bush campaign is that its guy has brass balls and Kerry is an indecisive eunuch. So why not? Speaking before thousands of members of the National Guard, who were assembled in Las Vegas for their annual convention, Bush whacked Kerry and continued to press the unfounded case that Kerry has totally reversed his position on Iraq more than once. Bush noted, "Last week my opponent questioned the cost of our operations in Iraq and said the money could have been better spent elsewhere. The problem is, just last summer he had a completely different view. Asked whether he believed we should reduce funding for operations in Iraq, my opponent at the time replied, 'No, I think we should increase it.'" Bush went on: "Asked by how much, he said, 'By whatever number of billions of dollars it takes to win. It is critical that the United States of America be successful in Iraq.'" What Bush outlined was no flip-flop. In the summer of 2003, after Bush had gotten the United States into a mess in Iraq (which now appears to be worsening by the day), Kerry said that the United States had to spend whatever it takes to succeed. That was an acknowledgment of the ugly reality wrought by Bush's decision to invade Iraq. And that remark is not inconsistent with Kerry's criticism that launching the war was a mistake and that the nation could have used the resources consumed by the war for other priorities. These are two thoughts that should reside easily side by side--but not for Bush. Campaigning yesterday, Bush also touted his much-repeated claim that Kerry voted against "the troops" when he opposed the $87 billion appropriations bill for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush and his crew have pointed to this vote and Kerry's inartful explanation--"I voted for it before I voted against it"--as evidence Kerry is a flip-flopper. But this is another instance when Bush has transformed reality into a misleading bumpersticker. Kerry voted for legislation that provided the $87 billion in funding and financed this appropriation by suspending tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers. His position was that the US government should pay for the war, not just place it on a charge card. At the same time, the Bush White House threatened to veto the spending bill if Democrats in Congress succeeded in their effort to attach $1.3 billion in additional medical benefits for Guard members, the Reserves and veterans. Bush and the Republicans ended up defeating the Democratic attempt to add these benefits. But Bush had stated his willingness to not support the troops if the Guard received extra medical benefits. The bottom line: Kerry wanted to pay for the military appropriations bill rather than run up more national debt, and his position has become a political liability. Bush threatened to veto the bill if it offered more assistance to the troops, and he has paid no political cost for that. How they must laugh over this one at Bush HQ. Meanwhile, the Case of the Iffy Guard Documents has become more mysterious. Marian Carr Knox, the former secretary to Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, Bush's commander in the Air National Guard and the purported author of the questioned documents, has told reporters that the documents look phony to her but "the information in them is correct." She notes that there had been problems with Bush's Guard service and there had been criticism of him. According to Knox, Killian, who died in 1984, had her type memos recording all this. She says Killian kept these memos in a private file that was locked. "It looks like someone may have read the originals and put [these documents] together," she told The New York Times. Another witness backs Knox's account. Richard Via, a former Texas National Guard officer, told USA Today that he believed the documents were fake but that the content reflects questions that were raised about Bush at the time at Ellington Air Force Base. Via had a desk there next to Killian's. From USA Today: Via said he and others he worked with "remember the physical [that Bush did not take], and him going to Alabama [before his transfer was accepted] was an issue." He said Killian "made notes and put them in his files about things like that." Killian "was trying to cover his ass," Via said. "He was always worried something would come back on him." He said Killian's secretary "would type them up, and he'd put it in his desk drawer and lock it." Which brings us back to the key matter in this puzzling episode: the story, not the documents. The questionable documents confirmed matters already established: Bush did not take a physical, he left for Alabama before his transfer went through, he was missing from his base for longer than the time he was in Alabama. Here we have Killian's secretary of twenty-two years and the fellow who sat next to Killian telling the same story and confirming an account supported by the preexisting record. This is a far stronger case than the case that was put forward against John Kerry by the Swift Vets. Regardless of the authenticity of this particular set of documents, the evidence is clear: Bush, who insists he reported for duty in Alabama and honorably met his Guard obligations, has not told the full truth about his Guard service and his missing year. Yet the documents receive more attention than Bush's flimsy explanations for his questionable Guard tenure--just as Kerry's vote against the unfunded $87 billion spending bill has received more notice than Bush's threat to veto it. Unfortunately, in politics, dissembling often works. And the Bush crowd, playing the media well, is working overtime to miscast reality in order to hold on to power.
by David Corn
published by DavidCorn.com
It takes chutzpah for George W. Bush, a onetime MIA Guardsman, to appear before the National Guard Association and attack John W. Kerry, a war hero. But the premise of the Bush campaign is that its guy has brass balls and Kerry is an indecisive eunuch. So why not? Speaking before thousands of members of the National Guard, who were assembled in Las Vegas for their annual convention, Bush whacked Kerry and continued to press the unfounded case that Kerry has totally reversed his position on Iraq more than once. Bush noted, "Last week my opponent questioned the cost of our operations in Iraq and said the money could have been better spent elsewhere. The problem is, just last summer he had a completely different view. Asked whether he believed we should reduce funding for operations in Iraq, my opponent at the time replied, 'No, I think we should increase it.'" Bush went on: "Asked by how much, he said, 'By whatever number of billions of dollars it takes to win. It is critical that the United States of America be successful in Iraq.'" What Bush outlined was no flip-flop. In the summer of 2003, after Bush had gotten the United States into a mess in Iraq (which now appears to be worsening by the day), Kerry said that the United States had to spend whatever it takes to succeed. That was an acknowledgment of the ugly reality wrought by Bush's decision to invade Iraq. And that remark is not inconsistent with Kerry's criticism that launching the war was a mistake and that the nation could have used the resources consumed by the war for other priorities. These are two thoughts that should reside easily side by side--but not for Bush. Campaigning yesterday, Bush also touted his much-repeated claim that Kerry voted against "the troops" when he opposed the $87 billion appropriations bill for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush and his crew have pointed to this vote and Kerry's inartful explanation--"I voted for it before I voted against it"--as evidence Kerry is a flip-flopper. But this is another instance when Bush has transformed reality into a misleading bumpersticker. Kerry voted for legislation that provided the $87 billion in funding and financed this appropriation by suspending tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers. His position was that the US government should pay for the war, not just place it on a charge card. At the same time, the Bush White House threatened to veto the spending bill if Democrats in Congress succeeded in their effort to attach $1.3 billion in additional medical benefits for Guard members, the Reserves and veterans. Bush and the Republicans ended up defeating the Democratic attempt to add these benefits. But Bush had stated his willingness to not support the troops if the Guard received extra medical benefits. The bottom line: Kerry wanted to pay for the military appropriations bill rather than run up more national debt, and his position has become a political liability. Bush threatened to veto the bill if it offered more assistance to the troops, and he has paid no political cost for that. How they must laugh over this one at Bush HQ. Meanwhile, the Case of the Iffy Guard Documents has become more mysterious. Marian Carr Knox, the former secretary to Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, Bush's commander in the Air National Guard and the purported author of the questioned documents, has told reporters that the documents look phony to her but "the information in them is correct." She notes that there had been problems with Bush's Guard service and there had been criticism of him. According to Knox, Killian, who died in 1984, had her type memos recording all this. She says Killian kept these memos in a private file that was locked. "It looks like someone may have read the originals and put [these documents] together," she told The New York Times. Another witness backs Knox's account. Richard Via, a former Texas National Guard officer, told USA Today that he believed the documents were fake but that the content reflects questions that were raised about Bush at the time at Ellington Air Force Base. Via had a desk there next to Killian's. From USA Today: Via said he and others he worked with "remember the physical [that Bush did not take], and him going to Alabama [before his transfer was accepted] was an issue." He said Killian "made notes and put them in his files about things like that." Killian "was trying to cover his ass," Via said. "He was always worried something would come back on him." He said Killian's secretary "would type them up, and he'd put it in his desk drawer and lock it." Which brings us back to the key matter in this puzzling episode: the story, not the documents. The questionable documents confirmed matters already established: Bush did not take a physical, he left for Alabama before his transfer went through, he was missing from his base for longer than the time he was in Alabama. Here we have Killian's secretary of twenty-two years and the fellow who sat next to Killian telling the same story and confirming an account supported by the preexisting record. This is a far stronger case than the case that was put forward against John Kerry by the Swift Vets. Regardless of the authenticity of this particular set of documents, the evidence is clear: Bush, who insists he reported for duty in Alabama and honorably met his Guard obligations, has not told the full truth about his Guard service and his missing year. Yet the documents receive more attention than Bush's flimsy explanations for his questionable Guard tenure--just as Kerry's vote against the unfunded $87 billion spending bill has received more notice than Bush's threat to veto it. Unfortunately, in politics, dissembling often works. And the Bush crowd, playing the media well, is working overtime to miscast reality in order to hold on to power.
posted by BLONDIE at 1:40 PM
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