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opinion
Also in this section:
Jackson, Sick of "The Cuba Question"
What they're saying about the attacks on Bush's military record
Avnery, "God Wills It!"
Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists behind Cuban bars
Reporters Without Borders, Concern for a slain Venezuelan colleague
Greenpeace, Multinational logger threatens libel suit
Lynn, A bad piece of fruit from Mireya's banana republic
Kolker, Honduran anti-gang law makes things worse
Leis, The Ethical Coalition
Bernal, For the children of Beslan
 
What they're saying about the attacks on George W. Bush's military record
CBS appears to have muffed things up badly in a Bush-bashing expedition, but NBC is not to be outdone. It announced plans to have Kitty Kelley spew her unverified rumors about President Bush for three days straight.
All in the name of good journalism? Not by my calculation.
George W. Bush, in his literature for his
losing 1978 congressional campaign
The only reason any of this is relevant today is because it speaks directly to the character of the man in the White House. For Bush to still stand there and deny that he got special breaks, to deny that some other American kid went to Vietnam in his stead, is so telling of his moral blindness, of his deliberate obtuseness about the way the world of power and privilege screws over most people.
A review of the authenticated documentary record for Bush's guard service and interviews with former guard members suggest that the president and his aides have been less than fully candid about unexplained gaps in his military service, and have made misleading and sometimes inaccurate statements that have helped fuel the controversy.
At the same time, Bush's critics have been unable to come up with definitive evidence showing that he failed to meet his minimum obligations to the guard after being suspended from flying for failing to take the physical.
Washington Post columnist Michael Dobbs
If any definitive evidence to the contrary of our story is found, we will report it. So far, there is none.
Certainly, journalists could not ignore charges that Kerry might have lied to get his war medals, though many of the swift boat group's meatiest allegations proved unsubstantiated by public records. And details revealed in the newest documents on Bush undercut past statements by the president that he never received special treatment during the war.
Indications are that Bush's troubles may pass quicker than Kerry's swift boat controversy --- in part, because these allegations have dogged Bush for years and voters may already have decided how they feel on the issue.
St. Petersburg Times editorial
Now comes retired Air National Guard Lt. Col. John "Bill" Calhoun of Georgia, who declares he served with George W. Bush during the president-to-be's disputed assignment at Alabama's Dannelly Air National Guard Base.
The 69-year-old retired officer lends verisimilitude to his recollection by relating conversations with Bush, as well as his observation of the magazines Bush read during that 1971-72 assignment.
WorldNet Daily columnist Michael Ackley
It's time to put to rest the issue of both presidential candidates' Vietnam-era military service records. With dangerous and critical issues facing America, lengthy debate about what happened in the jungles of Vietnam or in the Texas Air National Guard more than three decades ago borders on irresponsible.
Editorial, The Jackson Sun (Tennessee)
Americans have been inundated with ads denigrating Kerry's service as a decorated naval officer in Vietnam 36 years ago and questioning Bush's service as a fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard 32 years ago.
The US media have taken their cue from this partisan propaganda, recycling and expounding on the charges and counter-charges. The candidates, while distancing themselves from their supporters' smear tactics, have joined the fray.
Americans do place great importance on having a commander-in-chief who is capable of leading the nation in wartime, defending it from external threats and maintaining its global pre-eminence.
But a youthful stint in the navy or National Guard seems like a dubious predictor of martial leadership.
Carol Goar, The Toronto Star
Bush wins in the war on terrorism, and loses on everything else. But Kerry is off his game.
Here the campaign is dealing with terrorism and war, but we're still capable of losing ourself in matters 35 years old that belong on "Jeopardy!" or "Trivial Pursuit."
George Mason University journalism professor Frank Sesno
Let's recap the record: The undistinguished son of a politically powerful and wealthy family is a mediocre student but gets into Yale 'cause daddy did. He leapfrogged ahead of many better-qualified candidates to get in the Air National Guard, neatly escaping the Vietnam draft problem (thanks, Dad). Bush took a pass on his one chance to kill communists hand-to-hand like so many other future neocon Republican chickenhawks.
Bush flies obsolete planes, but will scramble if the Cubans hit Galveston. He gets his teeth fixed by the Guard. For the dental action he receives two metals, silver and mercury. He misses meetings, gets grounded for refusing to take his urine tests. Bush gets out months early to work on a Republican campaign. He can't get evaluated by his commanding officer because he did almost nothing.
Meanwhile, as many as 200 other less fortunate sons were dying every day while killing Vietnamese.
Eureka, California attorney Tim Crlenjak
Tactics vary, but the rhythm of each skirmish is the same. First one side manufactures a corny image that's supposed to make their guy look tough. Then the other side lobs rocks at the image until it's shot through with holes and has to be repaired and resubmitted.
The result is a nasty, juvenile campaign of distraction, one that's less interested in the future than the past. By past, I don't mean Vietnam and how it's similar to (or different from) Iraq, but the past actions of two individuals almost 40 years ago.
The Star-Ledger (New Jersey) columnist Matt Zoller Seitz
There are serious suggestions that memos purporting to show George W. Bush received preferential treatment during his National Guard service are forgeries. And those memos appear to have on them the paw prints of a desperate Kerry campaign.
Pittsburgh Tribune Review editorial
A review of the regulations governing Bush's Guard service during the Vietnam War shows that the White House used an inappropriate --- and less stringent --- Air Force standard in determining that he had fulfilled his duty. Because Bush signed a six-year "military service obligation," he was required to attend at least 44 inactive-duty training drills each fiscal year beginning July 1. But Bush's own records show that he fell short of that requirement, attending only 36 drills in the 1972-73 period, and only 12 in the 1973-74 period. The White House has said that Bush's service should be calculated using 12-month periods beginning on his induction date in May 1968. Using this time frame, however, Bush still fails the Air Force obligation standard.
Kit Roane, US News & World Report
Clearly we want this entire campaign to be fought on the issues of job creation, health care, education and a foreign policy based upon nations throughout the world respecting and working with the United States. That's what this election needs to be fought upon.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe
We don't know whether the documents were fabricated or are authentic. The media has talked to independent experts who have raised questions about the documents.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan
He admitted to me that to avoid the Vietnam draft, he had his dad --- he said "Dad's friends" --- skip him through the long waiting list to get him into the Texas National Guard.... He thought that was a smart thing to do.
Harvard Business School professor Yoshi Tsurumi
One of George W. Bush's professors
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