Posted on 09/10/2004 5:38:29 PM PDT by Tesslyn
President Bush' former Harvard Business School prof says his ex-student supported the Vietnam War but wanted somebody else to fight it. Yoshi Tsurumi said yesterday that Bush told him his father's connections got him into the Texas Air National Guard. "But what really disturbed me is that he said he was for the Vietnam War," said Tsurumi, who has also taught at Baruch College and the City University of New York. "I said, 'George, that's hypocrisy. You won't fight a war that you support but you expect other people to fight it for you.' He just smirked."
Tsurumi, who crossed paths with Bush in the early 1970s when the future President was studying for his MBA, previously has criticized Bush's economic policies and described him as a mediocre student who "believed people were poor because they were lazy."
But Tsurumi's new volley comes as Bush has been battling allegations he got preferential treatment at the height of the divisive Vietnam War. Bush, according to Tsurumi, "had no sense of guilt" about getting into the Guard while others wound up fighting in Vietnam.
"He was very casual about it," the professor said. "I said, 'Lucky you, how did you manage it?' He said, 'My dad had a good friend who put me at the head of the waiting list.'"
The White House declined to comment on Tsurumi's recollections, but Bush has denied that his father, who was a congressman at the time, pulled strings to get him a much-sought-after berth in the Guard.
Mommy?
Oh man, you got me there. Eyowsa
I suggest you read Krauthammer's column in today's Washington Post. His is the best analysis I've seen.
Was going to Canada or going to jail worse than what Clinton did?
SSS.
Going to jail, no, because it seems that was the honest consequence of the decision. Going to Canada, maybe, yeah.
I imagine it like this...
Perhaps
I wonder if willingness to physically participate in a war is some kind of prerequisite for supporting it.
Prerequist is a stong word IMHO. One can see a cause as just but not be so invested to actually do something about it, especially when it would come at a personal cost.One can support the second ammendment on not own a gun, one can support freedom of speech but not publish their own words, one could hate communism but not enough to enlist. I guess one could call such support a mile wide but only an inch deep.
Plus unlike some societies in history every adult can vote and full citizenship without military service. I believe that was a requirement in ancient Sparta and some other civilization.
Oh one more thing; one could enlist and manuever it in such a way to reduce the risk of seeing combat -- certainly less risk than the average draftee. I believe swift boats weren't used in combat until after Kerry enlisted, not that I'm accusing him of anything.
(I'm half-afraid to hit post and see what else has been aimed my way!)
LOL. Well there is a natural suspicion of people who post articles on their first day.
I don't accecpt your insinuation. George Bush never said he was unwilling to go to Vietnam.
Tesslyn, we have no way of knowing whether this is true or not. It's a he said/he said. GW has denied that his father got him favorable treatment.
He flew F102 jet fighter planes, which was in defense of the country.
He put in his time, was honorable discharged. End of story.
I don't see what purpose is served to keep dragging up his T ANG service.
I'll take "Clues" for $100 Alex. ??????
Whether the professor is telling the truth or not, Bush did join the National Guard. By "actively" avoiding the draft, I mean he took an action that would exempt him. "Passively" avoiding the draft would, I imagine, mean that you already fell into an exempt category.
LOL. OK, No Girl Scout Cookies for you !!!
Bull! When someone chose to go to Canada they had no idea that a future prez would grant them amnesty. They made a choice. Bill Clinton made a choice to have his cake and eat it too. His was the least honorable way out by far.
But weren't those who went to Canada violating the law?
I'm not a lawyer, but I served two tours in Vietnam and have more respect for someone who made the ultimate choice to leave their family and their country for something they believed in, than I do for someone who showed no courage or conviction. What did Bill Clinton believe in? Can there be any respect for what he did?
ROTFL!
BYE!
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