Source says president's father directly requested Guard posting

[Thurston Howe IV]

AUSTIN — The Bush family and a prominent Texas Democrat who says he helped George W. Bush avoid Vietnam by entering the Texas Air National Guard have long insisted there never was a direct request from the family for the favor.

Ben Barnes, speaker of the Texas House when George W. Bush entered the Guard in May 1968, reaffirmed there was no direct contact from the Bush family during an interview with CBS-TV's "60 Minutes" this week, a Barnes spokeswoman said Thursday.

"Categorically, that did not happen," Karen Hinton said.

Yet a source in a knowledgeable position disagreed, saying that a direct request did come from then-U.S. Rep. George Bush to Barnes.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush, who represented a Houston district, visited with Barnes outside a Capitol Hill hearing room in Washington and "was unequivocally talking about getting his son into the Guard" as a pilot.

"I just don't see why they don't admit it," the source said.

The source's allegation, if true, adds to an intense campaign uproar over the credibility of both presidential candidates on their roles as young men of privilege making personal choices as the Vietnam conflict played out more than three decades ago.



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[acmavm]

1. Of course it's true. The family has always treated this country as their

own little fiefdom, and they are the lords of the manor.

You can spin this story any way you want, but deep down in the hearts and minds of every thinking person, you KNOW IT'S TRUE.

[HereSince1628]

2. Have Rove and his MiniMedia completely erased 2000-2004?

Is this because they know that Bushit could never win on the accomplishments of his administation?

I am really sick of this. Kerry took Gulf War 2 off the table; Vietnam has become the focus of the American populus.

We were taken in so easily and completely that I fear the next move by the Junta.

I am expecting it to occur in conjunction with a lowering of oil prices to rather higher than they were this time last year and calling it an historic reduction in price.

Is there a catcher in the rye or do we just make like lemmings and go over the cliff?

[Thurston Howe IV]

3. Agree about loss of control of message

I very much agree that Kerry needs to focus on Iraq and domestic issues like healthcare and jobs, and make the election be a referendum on Bush's failures as president. However, I don't think Rove was behind this particular story, was he?

[AndyTiedye]

6. Repubs Control the Message, Because They Own the Media

It isn't clear that what Kerry says or does really matters much,
because it won't be reported where most people will hear about it
(unless it is something dumb that they can use against him!).

We have to find ALL of the voters who have the ability to see through
the lies, and get them to the polls on Nov 2nd.

It really comes down to getting out the vote, making sure that our
voters are allowed to vote, and making sure that all the votes
are counted.

[Thurston Howe IV]

9. Kerry could be better about his message

I agree that a key to winning for Kerry will be grassroots organizations, unions, etc doing voter ID and getting the votes to the polls. The 10,000 lawyers watching the polls will be important as well.

Also agree that Repubs have strong dominance over the media message. They worked hard to take control of it for the past 30 years. We need to start working to do the same thing. This is a long term issue, not going to be fixed in this election, or even the next. Do we have the commitment to see it through?

If Kerry's message were sharper and more focused, it would have more effect. The media do broadcast a certain amount of things mindlessly for both candidates.

Another thing is Kerry (and supporters) have actually spent more on ads up to this point than Bush. The money imbalance is not really an issue in this campaign.

Kerry blew a key opportunity with the convention to get his key policy initiatives before the public -- the most important being his healtcare insurance plan. The difference between his and Bush's is huge. The need is huge. The number of undecideds and non-voters who will be impacted by this policy is huge. Yet, it wasn't even mentioned at the convention.

[AndyTiedye]

11. Ads Don't Mean Squat When The Other Side Owns the News

> Kerry (and supporters) have actually spent more on ads up to this
> point than Bush.

Kerry's fundraising is truely a remarkable accomplishment.
No Democrat has ever raised so much, or even close.

Sadly, the money doesn't go very far.

All of the ads that money purchased, if run one right after another,
would be over in a day. The networks give Bush* that much free
promotion every single week.

> The money imbalance is not really an issue in this campaign.

The airtime imbalance is killing us.

[sally343434]

4. More spinning by the media for Bush

Notice how they slipped this is:

"The source's allegation, if true, adds to an intense campaign uproar over the credibility of both presidential candidates"

Both candidates? Sorry, but only Bush has a "credibility problem."

[MGKrebs]

5. Hey Thurston,

do I know you?

:think:

[Thurston Howe IV]

7. I'm thinking, but ...

No bells are ringing. I'm pretty new to DU. Don't hang out on too many internet sites other than cancer-related groups (family member has cancer and I do research to help out). I'm from Chicago. Any bells going off for you?

[yardwork]

8. Welcome to DU!

I've seen some of your other posts - you are a good asset to DU.

I'm sorry to hear about the illness of your family member. I hope that things go well.

[Thurston Howe IV]

10. Thanks!

I hope to be a positive asset to DU and any others who are working to take back the country from the oligarchs. Still trying to figure out my niche -- decided to plunge in and learn as I go. I know my heart is in the right place, but politics is a tricky business. Athough the current election makes things very short-term and immediate, I'm also thinking very long-term -- 10 to 15 years out.

Regarding the illness, things are going well for the time being. We're doing some cutting edge stuff that is working (at least for now).