Military Dentist Doesn't Recall Bush (YEESH Here we go again!)

Yahooooo ^ | 2/11/04

[areafiftyone]

The White House released dental records intended to support President Bush (news - web sites)'s account of his Air National Guard service in Alabama, while several members of the Guard unit said in interviews they don't remember ever seeing Bush at their Montgomery base.

Nor does the dentist specifically recall treating Bush. But all of them told The Associated Press that doesn't mean he wasn't there, serving alongside hundreds of others in the Guard unit.

The White House late Wednesday released a copy of a dental evaluation Bush had at Dannelly Air National Guard Base in Montgomery on Jan. 6, 1973, which Bush's spokesman said documented that the president had served in Alabama as required.

The White House obtained the dental record, along with other medical records it did not release, from the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver, spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Dr. John Andrew Harris of Montgomery, Ala., who performed Bush's dental exam on Jan. 6, 1973, said Thursday his signature appears on the record released by the White House.

Harris said the dental chart appears to be from the kind of checkups typically performed on unit members on weekend drill duty. The record indicates Bush was at the dental clinic on a Saturday.

"It's just an annual exam. He was missing his wisdom teeth and tooth No. 3. He had had some cap work," said Harris, referring to the chart.

Harris, now chief of dental services for the VA Medical Center in Montgomery, said he doesn't remember Bush, who would have been one of as many as 60 unit members seen over two days.

"He was just another pilot," he said. "They had to be seen on an annual basis."

Bush, who piloted jets as a Guard 1st lieutenant in Texas, was assigned temporarily to the unit in Alabama in 1972, where he worked on a political campaign for a family friend. Democrats have charged there is no proof that Bush actually showed up for duty.

"I don't remember seeing him. That does not mean he was not there," said Wayne Rambo, who was a first lieutenant with the 187th Supply Squadron at the time. The AP contacted more than a dozen former members of the unit on Wednesday, and none could recall ever running into Bush.

However, all were quick to point out that it was a large unit with up to 800 members and Bush was not a celebrity then.

Retired Maj. Norman Rahn, 74, who was with the 187th Tactical Reconnaissance Group in 1972-73, said he doubts anyone would remember an out-of-state pilot who spent a total of six to 10 days on base in a three-month period 32 years ago.

"He was not a member of our unit," Rahn told the AP on Wednesday. "We didn't own him."

The White House hardened its defense of Bush's National Guard service, saying documents released Tuesday and Wednesday had proven that Bush fulfilled his military obligation.

McClellan said requests for additional records show that some people "are more interested in trolling for trash for political gain" with the presidential election nine months away.

Sen. John Edwards (news - web sites) rejected that Thursday, telling NBC's "Today" show that "fair questions" remain unanswered. The North Carolinian, a Democratic presidential candidate, said "there are legitimate questions that still need to be answered" about whether Bush reported for duty in Alabama, as he said says he did.

Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), the Democratic front-runner, has refused to comment, but has also declined to urge fellow Democrats to drop what their questioning.

The records released late Wednesday were accompanied by a statement from Dr. Richard J. Tubb, the president's current physician, who stated that he read Bush's records, which covered a period from 1968 to 1973, and concurred with the doctors' assertion that Bush was "fit" for service.

"The records reflect no disqualifying medical information," Tubb said.

Meanwhile, a retired Texas National Guard officer said Wednesday he overheard a conversation in 1997 between then-Gov. Bush's chief of staff, Joe Allbaugh, and then-Adjutant Gen. Daniel James of the Texas Air National Guard in which he contends those two men spoke about getting rid of any military records that would "embarrass the governor."

Retired Lt. Col. Bill Burkett told the AP that he saw documents from Bush's file discarded in a trash can a few days later at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas. Burkett described them as performance and pay documents. He said the documents bore the header: "Bush, George W. 1lt." — meaning first lieutenant.

James and Allbaugh denied the allegations, which Burkett said he had previously discussed on Web sites and in letters to Texas legislators in 1998.

"The alleged discussion never happened," said James, who appointed by the president in 2002 to lead the Air National Guard. "I have never been involved in, nor would I condone any discussion or any action to falsify any record in any circumstance for anyone."

Allbaugh, now a Washington lobbyist, told The Dallas Morning News that Burkett's assertions were "hogwash."

Bush, who spent most of his service in Texas, received permission to perform his duties in Alabama while working on the unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign of Winton "Red" Blount, a family friend.

Bush enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard at Ellington Air Force Base in May 1968. In May 1972, records show he requested and got permission to perform non-flying duties in Alabama.

Democrats are focusing on a one-year period, from May 1972 to May 1973, when Bush was assigned in Alabama and then was back in Texas.

[areafiftyone]

Well this explains why the mainstream media isn't printing Drudge's story. They are still obsessed with the AWOL story.

[WOSG]

"Nor does the dentist specifically recall treating Bush."

MY GOD, what a scandal! Dentist doesnt recall treating patient 30 years ago!

IN other news, my old school principle doesnt specifically recall me being in school on February 23, 1978, in 8th grade. I guess that means I was AWOL and my honors diploma means nothing.

[Shermy]

[Galtoid]

You know what this tells me? All these guys who can't remember George W. Bush says one thing: GWB did NOTHING different from his peers; did NOT try to distinguish himself or get special treatment. This is the real story.
If certain people can't recall GWB, I say it is a compliment.

[Blood of Tyrants]

So what? I wouldn't expect a dentist who filled one of my teeth 30 YEARS AGO to remember doing it either?

Next headline: "CHIEF COOK AT NATIONAL GUARD BASE DOESN'T REMEMBER SERVING BUSH AT CHOW HALL

And "BASE BARBER DOESN'T REMEMBER CUTTING BUSH'S HAIR!"

And "NATIONAL GUARD BASE LAUNDRY HAS NO RECORD THAT BUSH WAS EVER AT BASE"

Give me a break!

[EggsAckley]

These people are unbelievable. What's next? Proof that GW is the LEGITIMATE son of George and Bar?

I'm sure they'll try to turn "He had had some cap work" into some silly indictment of him.

From my experience, the people *I* remember the clearest from groups like that are the ones who are the most obnoxious and high-profile. The quiet and low-key ones are easily forgotten.

[KellyAdmirer]

If the doctor who delivered me doesn't remember preparing the birth certificate, does that mean I wasn't born?

[billorites]

"He was missing his wisdom teeth and tooth No. 3."

Hmmm.

Something smells fishy here. I'd like to know what happened to these teeth.

[areafiftyone]

I agree. That means that Bush was and acted like a regular guy. Can't say that about John FATHEAD Kerry!

[Our man in washington]

I'd be amazed if the dentist did remember him. I had my checkup for the reserves recently. Dental is one of the stations you go to. You got a line of thirty people, and you're jumping from one station to the next. Each person checks off something on your form, and you rush to the next station. Everything is done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The dentist doesn't have time to start long conversations; while he's treating a junior officer, a general might be the next guy in line.

I've been to the medical unit three times for regular checkups over the last two years, and in all probability, they don't know my name now. I'm just one of hundreds in a constantly changing group who drops by occasionally and briefly.

[billorites]

"What's next? Proof that GW is the LEGITIMATE son of George and Bar?"

Now that you mention it...

[gov_bean_ counter]

My wife's OBGYN never recognized her outside his office either.

[antiRepublicrat]

I was one of those questioning the gaps in service since they were pretty clear, but the issue is closed for me now that we have these documents. I was wrong.

I wonder what was in the trashed documents, but any ideas would be pure conjecture. I wouldn't put it past Bush Sr. to do that to protect his kid's political future.

[jwalsh07]

The butcher who broke one of my teeth off at Fort Hood doesn't remember me either but I sure the hell remember that sob.

[CFW]

"It's just an annual exam. He was missing his wisdom teeth and tooth No. 3. He had had some cap work," said Harris, referring to the chart.

Harris, now chief of dental services for the VA Medical Center in Montgomery, said he doesn't remember Bush, who would have been one of as many as 60 unit members seen over two days.

"He was just another pilot," he said. "They had to be seen on an annual basis."

Doh! Headline doesn't really match the article, does it?

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Lord forgive me, I hate the media. This is becoming just so predictable.

[jwalsh07]

I wonder what was in the trashed documents, but any ideas would be pure conjecture. I wouldn't put it past Bush Sr. to do that to protect his kid's political future.

Seems like you're wrong a lot.

[hobson]

This is just too funny. I say keep it coming. It's going to blow-up all over them.

[don'tbedenied]

This story is becoming more ludicrous by the day. Absent some real information it will die of its own blatant silliness. Just look at the headline, it's a coffee snorter. BTW I am assuming the worst animus from the press, it's just that they ultimately get embarrassed if the story becomes so overdone it gets silly.

[don'tbedenied]

This story is becoming more ludicrous by the day. Absent some real information it will die of its own blatant silliness. Just look at the headline, it's a coffee snorter. BTW I am assuming the worst animus from the press, it's just that they ultimately get embarrassed if the story becomes so overdone it gets silly.