Democrats Are 'Trolling for Trash'
Carl Limbacher
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2004
WASHINGTON - President Bush's spokesman said Wednesday that Democrats
who continue to demand more proof that the president reported for
National Guard duty in Alabama are "trolling for trash." Bush said in a
television interview over the weekend that he would be willing to open
up his entire military file, and would "absolutely" be willing to
authorize the release of anything that would settle the controversy
over his service in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam
War.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan appeared to step back from
that pledge in telling reporters: "If there is new information that
comes to our attention, we will let you know, if it's relevant to this
issue."
"I think what you're seeing is gutter politics," McClellan said. "The
American people deserve better. There are some who are not interested
in the facts. They are simply trolling for trash" for political gain.
On Tuesday, the White House provided documents that it said show Bush
completed his National Guard service during the Vietnam War. But
Democrats say they still want evidence that he reported for duty as
ordered in Alabama.
"The president recalls serving both when he was in Texas and when he
was in Alabama," McClellan said Tuesday, holding up a 13-page packet of
military records. "We have provided you these documents that show
clearly that thepresident of the United States fulfilled his duties,
and that is the reason that he was honorably discharged from the
National Guard."
More Gripes From Non-veteran McAuliffe
The records, some being released for the first time, didn't satisfy
Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe. He argued that
the payroll and summary service records posed more questions than they
answered.
"The fact remains that there is still no evidence that George W. Bush
showed up for duty as ordered while in Alabama," McAuliffe said.
McAuliffe helped resurrect long-running questions about Bush's National
Guard record earlier this month when he charged that the president had
been "AWOL," or absent without leave during his time in Alabama.
Democrats have been raising questions again about Bush's service,
especially since Vietnam War veteran John Kerry has taken the lead to
become Bush's opponent in the upcoming presidential election.
Kerry Dummies Up
Kerry stayed silent on the subject Tuesday.
"I just don't have any comment on it," he told reporters between
campaign stops in Tennessee and Virginia. "It's not an issue that I
chose to create. It's not my record that's at issue, and I don't have
any questions about it."
Bush joined the Texas Air National Guard in 1968, and spent most of his
service time based near Houston. From May to November 1972, however,
Bush received permission to perform his duties in Alabama while he
worked as political director on the Senate campaign of Winton "Red"
Blount," a Bush family friend.
In a memo included in the packet of payroll and other records, retired
Lt. Col. Albert Lloyd Jr., former personnel director of the Texas Air
National Guard, stood behind Bush's service record. He wrote that the
records show Bush had "satisfactory years" for the period of 1972-73
and 1973-74 "which proves that he completed his military obligation in
a satisfactory manner."
But although McClellan insists that Bush "recalls serving in Alabama,"
the records do not show that Bush was paid for any service between May
and September 1972. Records show he requested and received permission
for the temporary Alabama duty in May and that a three-month transfer
to a unit in Montgomery was formally approved on Sept. 6. Bush was paid
for two days in October 1972 and four days in November 1972, but the
pay records do not say where he served on those days, or what he did.
"This paperwork doesn't say where he was or what type of training he
conducted," said Lt. Col. Scott Gorske, a military fellow at Center for
Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "What it does say is
the days that he did train and that he got paid."
He said National Guard members were not necessarily required to attend
a drill each month, but rather to train a certain amount of time over a
12-month period. That is why Bush could have met his yearly service
requirements even if there were some months in which he did not attend
a drill, Gorske said.
Retired Brig. Gen. William Turnipseed, who commanded the 187th Tactical
Recon Group in Montgomery, told The Associated Press in May 2000 that
he did not recall Bush reporting for duty there. "To my knowledge, he
never showed up," Turnipseed said then.
Turnipseed Unsure of His Own Whereabouts
On Tuesday, he told the AP that he was not sure whether he was even on
the base during the time Bush was assigned there. Moreover, he said:
"In 1972, I didn't even know he was supposed to come. I didn't know
that until 2000. I'm not saying that he wasn't there. If he said he was
there, I believe it. I don't remember seeing him."
McClellan accused the Democrats of resurrecting a controversy that the
Bush campaign tamped down in 2000. Calling allegations by McAuliffe and
others as "baseless" and "outrageous," McClellan said they wanted to
twist the facts to seek a partisan, political, election-year advantage.
--
Left-wing liberals are EVERYTHING they accuse the right of being. They
are mean, vicious, hateful, greedy, cold-hearted, closed-minded,
selfish, intolerant, bigoted and racist.
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