Denigrating the guard

Bill Press has a good editorial in today's newspapers reviewing what we know about Bush's record with the National Guard. Bush and the Republicans are trying to portray those who question Bush's service record as being somehow 'unpatriotic' (just as they've tried to portray anyone who has questions anything else about Bush or his policies), but as Press points out, that's really not the case at all.

George Bush himself left no doubt why he joined the National Guard: to get out of Vietnam. In May 1984, he told the Houston Chronicle: "I was not prepared to shoot my eardrum out with a shotgun in order to get a deferment. Nor was I willing to go to Canada. So I chose to better myself by learning how to fly airplanes."

So Bush, a son of privilege, used his congressman father's connections to get into the Guard. After learning to fly, he used his father's political connections to get assigned to a Republican Senate campaign in Alabama. Then he used his father's connections to get out of the Guard five months early, so he could attend Harvard Business School.

And now President Bush has the audacity to suggest that anyone who questions his military record is denigrating the National Guard. No, Mr. President, the person denigrating the National Guard is not the one asking the questions. It's the one who says he did his duty, but didn't.

I also have to wonder, while I doubt that the draft will be reinstated anytime soon (or at least not before the election), if it were, would Bush and his administration allow deferments or special placements for other young men (and women) who aren't willing to shoot their eardrums out or go to Canada? Or is that just another benefit for the wealthy and well-connected?

Posted by thorswitch at February 17, 2004 08:17 PM | TrackBack