Bush's moment of truth

Looks like it's time for Bush to finally stop lying about his National Guard Service.

Tonight at 8:00 Eastern Time, 60 Minutes will run an exclusive interview with Ben Barnes, the former Texas official who got Bush into the guard ahead of all the other applicants (not that it was anything horrible like affirmative action or anything, but still).

But that's not all. Josh Marshall says that's only the beginning of what the show will reveal about Bush's record.

Apparently they're also going to show records that will back up the accounts of two credible witnesses described today in Nicholas Kristof's column. These guys say there is no way in hell Bush showed up to do his military duty, no matter how much he and Scott McClellan continue to lie about it.

Kristof even provides a link to a comprehensive analysis of Bush's record by a politically independent career military officer who has concluded that Bush did not complete his service and that he received fraudulent paychecks from the U.S. government.

Bush has lied about this as recently as February in an interview with Tim Russert.

But if he gets called on it, he pulls the bizarre move of saying that his critics are insulting the National Guard. But it is Bush who has insulted the National Guard, and our intelligence, by continuing to lie about this for years.

Game over, Mr. President.

[Edited on Sep 08, 2004 by saucy_son]

Well, I sure hope this is true.

It is. He never came close to fulfilling his National Guard responsibilities and was never punished for it. Surprise, surprise.

gee, it's awfully quiet in this thread. where are all those bush-lovers? maybe even they find it impossible to plausibly defend bush as the "national security" candidate when he blew off his obligation to an organization whose sole purpose is national security, and lied about it ever since.

for appropriate ambience, click here.

[Edited on Sep 08, 2004 by saucy_son]

Just the same, even if he didn't show up, I'm happy when he doesn't serve our country in any way shape or form. Some left-wing 'radical' should impose a heavy anual tax on him and his 'base', but other than that... he cant just hang out at Kennebunkport with dad and get plastered and sneak off occasionally to the bathroom to do a few lines, for all I care. Just don't let him in charge or do ANYTHING... the man is a sleep deprived chimp behind the wheel of an h2.

How hard is it to show up for 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year......hell even the president should be able to make that kind of time in his busy schedule

Ben Barnes is one of the top Kerry fundraisers, fyi.

Also, last I heard, Ben Barnes got into office after Bush was already accepted into the TANG? So how could he be the one that got Bush in?

Will be interesting to see if they ask him these things on 60 minutes.

I was watching Leno last night and he said that there be a major news story about Bush's National Guard Service. He said that it would be reported that Bush sunk out while on duty to smoke pot and snort coke. Leno isn't always the best source of news but maybe some of this is true.

So what does this have anything to do with whether Bush lied or not?

Well it means that Ben Barnes is not the most trustworthy source of information on this topic.

I need to read better


[Edited on Sep 08, 2004 by PerilSensitive]

Funny how that association matters when its Ben Barnes, but not when its Ken Lay or Dick Cheney, or the lifelong friends of Bush' over at SVT.

Ummm, He was Speaker of the Texas House.

Barnes is also known for nonpartisanship, which is rather common in Texas. He recently supported the candidacy of the mother of Scott McClellan, Bush's press secretary, for example. He has been a friend of the Bushes for some time; that's why he did W. the favor to begin with.

The thing about Barnes getting into office after Bush got into the Guard has been clarified, and I can get the source if you want. He made a simple mistake in an interview when he referred to the office he held at the time (he's held several in Texas), but it's clear he did get Bush into the Guard.

Again, it's awfully quiet in this thread. Bush supporters could rant for days about a bunch of hearsay regarding Kerry's record, but when incontrovertible evidence is presented against their guy, they seem to disappear.



[Edited on Sep 08, 2004 by saucy_son]

I don't think anyone will be surprised by the "new" information on Bush's military record. He's a deserter, a con man, a mean-spirited little liar, and still continues to enjoy a life of privelege without accountability or consequence. I think "God" probably excused him from actually fulfilling his Guard duties.

Karl Rove has had plenty of advance time to figure out a counterattack. It could well be even more grotesque than their below-the-belt attacks to date. They've developed a teflon coating for W that is so effective it makes Reagan's look like a sticky wicket.

I can only hope that the neocons finally sink so low that they can never climb up from their own stinking shitpile.

...and where are all the Bush apologists on this thread? Rooting around in your ass for some lie to hang your hat on? Waiting to get your talking points from Rush and Hannity?

Must be like the body armor produced for troops in Iraq by the Coors family, major donors to the Bush campaign. As Coors matriarch Holly Coors has so memorably put it, "It breaks my heart to hear him [Bush] criticized. They hated our Lord, too."

That's sorta what I've been wondering.

can't wait to see the interview. thanks for the heads up saucy.

Apparetly, you've never been a Party Monster.

Six and a half hours without a peep! I believe they're down for the count on this one, saucy. That's pretty encouraging.

i managed to do it for 4 years. it really wasn't all that hard.

Guess I gotta throw some bait out there. Here's an exerpt from the conclusion of the Lechliter analysis. It pretty much speaks for itself.

And before Lechliter is dismissed as a whining left-winger, here's his bio from the same document, along with a discussion of what prompted him to undertake this research:

Anyone? Bueller?

Yikes.

Are these the beer Coors? If so, right now I'm seriously not loving the fact that I might be related to those fuckers.

"It breaks my heart to hear him [Bush] criticized. They hated our Lord, too."


Bush Christ for prez!

Could be worse ... there was a time when the Coors family were avid racists and supporters of the John Birch Society. They also were cited by the EPA numerous times for dumping untreated waste into the Colorado River -- the river that they love to feature in the commercials to tout their clean taste.

Coors is basically just canned urine anyway!

I think this new information will not matter one iota. If this had come out two months ago, it would have been a big deal. I think the whole Swift Boat Veterans thing has made a lot of Americans tired of hearing about Bush and Kerry's war records. People want to hear them focus on issues.

I think Kerry is better served if he attacks Bush's track record as President and his failures as a leader.

just like the shrimp boat ads were financed by one of shrub's old friends from texas. since the gloves came off at the RNC turnabout is most definitely fairplay.