Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

New Smear, Same As The Old Smear, Only Lamer
captainsquartersblog.com ^ | September 13, 2004 | Captain Ed

Posted on 09/13/2004 10:22:17 AM PDT by crushelits

Matt Drudge reports that the Democrats have prepared a new smear on George Bush regarding his National Guard service that is not only pathetic and laughable, but also reveals the incredible ignorance of the military of Bush's opponents:

Faster than a CBS eye can blink, dogged Dems are set to take to the airwaves anew hoping to keep questions about President Bush's National Guard duty in play, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Candidate Kerry apparently has rejected former President Clinton's advice not to get further locked in a 2004 Vietnam quagmire.

"George W. Bush's campaign literature claimed that he 'served in the U.S. Air Force.' The only problem? He didn't," slams a new DNC press release set for distribution. ... "George Bush has a clear pattern of lying about his military service," DNC Communications Director Jano Cabrera blasts in the new release. "From 1978 to the present day, George Bush has refused to tell voters the truth about his service. It's time for the President to come clean."

"Flyers distributed to Texas voters during Bush's failed Congressional race say 'he served in the U.S. Air Force and the Texas Air National Guard.' But according to Air Force officials, Air National Guardsmen are not counted as members of the active-duty Air Force."

If you can imagine anyone responding to anything so unbelievably petty, then you must be related to James Carville. Otherwise, all this kind of attack does is to reveal the desperation of John Kerry and the Democrats.

Besides which, it's dead wrong, just like the Killian forgeries, only this time no one committed felonies to create the smear. CQ stalwart Bandit, himself a former military man, discovered this among George Bush's National Guard records at USA Today. Take a look through pages 8, 9, 10, and 24, for starters. George Bush received his commission from the Air Force reserves and his promotion from 2nd Lt to 1st Lt was given by the Air Force. That would indicate that George Bush indeed was serving in the Air Force while flying in the Air National Guard.

Who do the Democrats think was in charge of the Air National Guard, anyway? The FAA? If they know this little about our armed services, they should never be put in charge of them. And if they're reaching for such picayune and pathetic distinctions, it demonstrates that they have nothing left to offer the American electorate. They've admitted that John Kerry is an empty suit and all they care about is regaining power.

The only way to ensure that this crowd gets completely discredited is to punish the Democratic Party up and down the entire ticket in November. If you think forgery is a swell thing, of course, vote Democratic. But if you want these twisted and bitter souls to be exiled once and for all from American politics -- the Susan Estriches, Al Gores, James Carvilles, and all that gang of haters -- then do whatever you can to ensure their party's defeat at every level this year.

<![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]>

<![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]>


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: newsmear; onlylamer; sameastheoldsmear
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-30 next last

1 posted on 09/13/2004 10:22:17 AM PDT by crushelits
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: crushelits

Does that mean the MSM is gonna go after Kamp Kerry about the Navy claim too?


2 posted on 09/13/2004 10:24:16 AM PDT by GoLightly
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: crushelits

D'ya think the Dems will ever consider actually trying to promote their own candidate? This shows you what they think of John Kerry.


3 posted on 09/13/2004 10:24:36 AM PDT by Spok
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: crushelits

I think I finally figured out the DNC's modus operandi. Sure the Bush charges are ridiculous. But what they want is for the public to lump that in with the Swifties stuff so that basically people will think that the Swifties charges are also just a ridiculous, or that people get "Vietnam fatigue" and simply discount all talk of Vietnam stuff. That would at least neutralize the issue for Kerry, which would be a win for him. Don't let them get away with it.


4 posted on 09/13/2004 10:25:10 AM PDT by dfwgator (It's sad that the news media treats Michael Jackson better than our military.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: crushelits
"George W. Bush's campaign literature claimed that he 'served in the U.S. Air Force.' The only problem? He didn't," slams a new DNC press release set for distribution. ... "George Bush has a clear pattern of lying about his military service," DNC Communications Director Jano Cabrera blasts in the new release. "From 1978 to the present day, George Bush has refused to tell voters the truth about his service. It's time for the President to come clean."

Gosh guys, we're screwed. I mean, now that this has some out there is no way we're going to win the election! Just think, had this come out in 2000 Gore would have won in a landslide. Bush not in the AirForce? That was the keystone of his campaign! We're f**cked!

5 posted on 09/13/2004 10:26:22 AM PDT by SerialRants (http://www.serialrants.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: crushelits

The Guard and Reserves are considered to be active for training purposes; so who cares whether he claimed to have served in the USAF for that period. It does not matter; at least he didn't come back home to the US and become the traitor that a Mass. Senator did. Tell me something isn't Kerry AWOL from the Senate.


6 posted on 09/13/2004 10:26:33 AM PDT by wvnavyvet
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: crushelits

This is a winning issue for the Dems. If they can somehow tie this in with the heated debate over who should have budgetary discretion for the newly created Intelligence Czar, it should be a landslide for Kerry.


7 posted on 09/13/2004 10:27:34 AM PDT by VisualizeSmallerGovernment (Question Liberal Authority)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GoLightly

Technically, the Air National Guard is a part of the Air Force.
The DNC is really stepping in this because the same can be used against Kerry who technically signed up for the Navy Reserves, not active Navy. Both men served in their respective service branches. Any attempt to say otherwise will only damage the DNC as being ignorant of anything military.


8 posted on 09/13/2004 10:29:26 AM PDT by mnehring (YP4W)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator
I think I finally figured out the DNC's modus operandi.

You are correct. The Bush National Guard thing is defensive against the Swift Boat Vets.

Great strategy Dems. Your team is down 11 points with 7 weeks to go. Try to run out the clock.

9 posted on 09/13/2004 10:29:42 AM PDT by VisualizeSmallerGovernment (Question Liberal Authority)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: VisualizeSmallerGovernment

Exactly, the Swifties probably have even more devastating stuff on Kerry, they Kerry camp knows it, and they are just trying to over saturate the Vietnam stuff so people tune it out, from either side. It's their only chance.


10 posted on 09/13/2004 10:31:40 AM PDT by dfwgator (It's sad that the news media treats Michael Jackson better than our military.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: VisualizeSmallerGovernment
This is a winning issue for the Dems. If they can somehow tie this in with the heated debate over who should have budgetary discretion for the newly created Intelligence Czar, it should be a landslide for Kerry.

No, no. You misread it.

They're going to tie Bush missing his physical in 1972 into the new Department of Wellness that Kerry proposes.

Every voter gets that, don't you see!

11 posted on 09/13/2004 10:32:15 AM PDT by sinkspur ("Can someone tell me where to find an ordained archpriest?"--Cardinal Fanfani)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: mnehrling

Zackly my point, though I didn't fill in any of the details.


12 posted on 09/13/2004 10:32:45 AM PDT by GoLightly
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: crushelits
Geez, it is a shame that the claim is being swatted down before they really have a chance to use it.

We should at least wait until Edwards and Harkin talk it up before debunking it and discrediting them.

13 posted on 09/13/2004 10:33:35 AM PDT by Plutarch
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: crushelits
What a joke!

Kerry has claimed to have been "in the Navy". In truth, he was in the Navy Reserves.

14 posted on 09/13/2004 10:34:39 AM PDT by Bob
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: crushelits
So who is going to break this "Amazing" story?

Shirley not CBS......

and yes I called Dan , Shirley

sure is better then what Bill Safire called him today


NOT the Edward R Morrow...that's GOTTA hurt
"September 13, 2004 OP-ED COLUMNIST Those Discredited Memos By WILLIAM SAFIRE ashington — Alert bloggers who knew the difference between the product of old typewriters and new word processors immediately suspected a hoax: the "documents" presented by CBS News suggesting preferential treatment in Lt. George W. Bush's National Guard service have all the earmarks of forgeries. The copies of copies of copies that formed the basis for the latest charges were supposedly typed by Guard officer Jerry Killian three decades ago and placed in his "personal" file. But it is the default typeface of Microsoft Word, highly unlikely to have been used by that Texas colonel, who died in 1984. His widow says he could hardly type and his son warned CBS that the memos were not real. When the mainstream press checked the sources mentioned or ignored by "60 Minutes II," the story came apart. The Los Angeles Times checked with Killian's former commander, the retired Guard general whom a CBS executive had said would be the "trump card" in corroborating its charges. But it turns out CBS had only read Maj. Gen. Bobby Hodges the purported memos on the phone, and did not trouble to show them to him. Hodges now says he was "misled" - he thought the memos were handwritten - and believes the machine-produced "documents" to be forgeries. (CBS accuses the officer of changing his story.) The L.A. Times also checked out a handwriting analyst, Marcel Matley (of Vincent Foster suicide-note fame), who CBS had claimed vouched for the authenticity of four memos. It turns out he vouches for only one signature, and no scribbled initials, and has no opinion about the typography of any of the supposed memos. The Dallas Morning News looked into the charge in one of the possible forgeries dated Aug. 18, 1973, that a commander of a Texas Air Guard squadron was trying to "sugar coat" Bush's service record. It found that the commander had retired from the Guard 18 months before that. The Associated Press focused on the suspicion first voiced by a blogger on the Web site Freerepublic.com about modern "superscripts" that include a raised th after a number. CBS, on the defense, claimed that "some models" of typewriters of the 70's could do that trick, and some Texas Air National Guard documents released by the White House included it. "That superscript, however," countered The A.P., "is in a different typeface than the one used for the CBS memos." It consulted the document examiner Sandra Ramsey Lines of Paradise Valley, Ariz., and reported "she could testify in court that, beyond a reasonable doubt, her opinion was that the memos were written on a computer." The Washington Post reported Dan Rather's response to questions about the documents' authenticity: "Until someone shows me definitive proof that they are not, I don't see any reason to carry on a conversation with the professional rumor mill" and questioned the critics' "motivation." After leading with that response, Post media reporter Howard Kurtz noted that the handwriting expert Matley said that CBS had asked him not to give interviews, and that an unidentified CBS staff member who had examined the documents saw potential problems with them: "There's a lot of sentiment that we should do an internal investigation." Newsweek (which likes the word "discredited") has apparently begun an external investigation: it names "a disgruntled former Guard officer" as a principal source for CBS, noting "he suffered two nervous breakdowns" and "unsuccessfully sued for medical expenses." It may be that CBS is the victim of a whopping journalistic hoax, besmearing a president to bring him down. What should a responsible news organization do? To shut up sources and impugn the motives of serious critics - from opinionated bloggers to straight journalists - demeans the Murrow tradition. Nor is any angry demand that others prove them wrong acceptable, especially when no original documents are available to prove anything. Years ago, Kurdish friends slipped me amateur film taken of Saddam's poison-gas attack that killed thousands in Halabja. I gave it to Dan Rather, who trusted my word on sources. Despite objections from queasy colleagues, he put it on the air. Hey, Dan: On this, recognize the preponderance of doubt. Call for a panel of old CBS hands and independent editors to re-examine sources and papers. Courage. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/13/opinion/13safire.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fWilliam%20Safire
15 posted on 09/13/2004 10:37:35 AM PDT by Wild_Bill_8881 (If ya can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with BS)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: crushelits
"George W. Bush's campaign literature claimed that he 'served in the U.S. Air Force.' The only problem? He didn't," slams a new DNC press release set for distribution

Huh, what National Guard unit trains pilots?

Answer: They don't, the USAF does. And trainees are full time active duty USAF for the duration. Bush was active duty USAF for two years.

If the Democrats don't know this, then they certianly don't deserve to run the military.

16 posted on 09/13/2004 10:38:13 AM PDT by narby (What's the provenance, Dan?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: crushelits

If Bush wasn't "in the USAF" during his training, then John Kerry was never in the Navy either. He was in the Navy Reserves. Sheesh.


17 posted on 09/13/2004 10:39:52 AM PDT by narby (What's the provenance, Dan?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

Kerry was an officer in the U.S. NAVAL RESERVE, yet he continues to state that he served in the NAVY. He was commissioned through Officer Candidate School, hence his USNR commission. In that era, only officers commissioned through the Naval Academy and the Scholarship program of Navy ROTC got regular commissions and bore "USN" after their names. So, Kerry was NOT in the NAVY. He was in the NAVAL RESERVE.

The Air National Guard is part of the Air Force (like the USNR is part of the Navy). The USAF, USAFR, and ANG all work for the Secretary of the Air Force. ANG people wear Air Force Uniforms. When an ANG pilot gets shot down in Iraq, flying in an ANG plane, he is reported as an "Air Force" casualty. Such nit-picking is totally indicative of desperation in the Kerry camp.

Henceforth, I want to hear Monsieur Kerry stating how he proudly served in the NAVAL RESERVE.


18 posted on 09/13/2004 10:40:32 AM PDT by carrier-aviator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: narby
Huh, what National Guard unit trains pilots?

Answer: They don't, the USAF does. And trainees are full time active duty USAF for the duration. Bush was active duty USAF for two years.

But Narby, when Bush has nothing to run on but his "esteemed military service" any little things like this could cost him the election. Oh wait, I'm thinking of Kerry...

19 posted on 09/13/2004 10:46:32 AM PDT by SerialRants (http://www.serialrants.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: crushelits

WHEN IS HANOI JOHN GONNA OPEN HIS RECORDS? Even the Fair & Balanced FNC has been DERLICT in their duty in not reporting that hanoi john flip flop kerry hasn't opened his records like Dubya has.


20 posted on 09/13/2004 10:47:48 AM PDT by GailA ( hanoi john, I'm for the death penalty for terrorist, before I impose a moratorium on it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-30 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson