Ex-Honcho: I Got Bush Into Guard
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| Sat, 08-28-2004 - 12:52pm |
(CBS/AP) In a video posted on the Internet, former Texas Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, a Democrat, says he is ashamed that he helped President Bush and the sons of other wealthy families get into the Texas Air National Guard in 1968 so they could avoid serving in Vietnam.
"I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard when I was lieutenant governor of Texas, and I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I did it," Barnes said in the 45-second video, which was recorded May 27 at a meeting of John Kerry supporters in Austin.
Barnes, who was House speaker when Mr. Bush entered the Guard, later became lieutenant governor.
He said he became ashamed after walking through the Vietnam Memorial and looking at the names of people who died.
"I became more ashamed of myself than I've ever been because the worst thing I did was get a lot of wealthy supporters and a lot of people who had family names of importance into the Guard and I'm very sorry about that and I apologize to you and the voters of Texas," Barnes said.
President Bush has denied that family influence got him into the Guard.
"With controversy swirling around Kerry's service as a swift boat commander in Vietnam, Barnes' latest statements renew questions about (Mr.) Bush's military record, but also about Barnes' motivation for telling his story," the Houston Chronicle says in its Saturday editions.
"It is no surprise that a partisan Democrat is making these statements," Bush spokeswoman Claire Buchan told the Chronicle. "This was addressed five years ago, and there's nothing new."
The video was posted June 25 on the Web site www.austin4kerry.org, but didn't get much attention until Friday, when Jim Moore, an Austin-based author of books about Mr. Bush, sent out e-mail messages calling attention to it, The New York Times reported in its Saturday editions.
It was the first time Barnes, a Kerry supporter, has discussed at length his role in getting Mr. Bush into the Guard. In 1999, he said he recommended Mr. Bush for a pilot's position at the request of a Bush family friend.
"I got a lot of other people in the National Guard because I thought that's what people should do when you're in office: You help a lot of rich people," Barnes said.
© MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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That's a misquote, here's what he actually said:
When asked "Can we win?" the war on terror, Bush said, "I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that the - those who use terror as a tool are - less acceptable in parts of the world."
I admit, it was a politically unfortunate way to phrase it, but you nuanced Kerry folks should be able to understand what he meant-there IS no way to completely eliminate terrorism. We are not going to have a formal surrender and sign a peace treaty with all terrorists everywhere. Funny, I've been hearing Dems complain for months now about how arrogant Bush is, thinking he can defeat terrorism, but when he answers a question about it honestly and realistically he's criticized for that too. Guess you would have liked it better if he had said, "Yes, we won't stop until we wipe every potential terrorist off the face of the earth". That would have gone over real well with you folks, I'm sure.
Don't know what your question has to do with the post you're responding to, but in answer to it Bush didn't lie, if he did then so did Blair, Clinton, Albright, Kerry, Edwards, the UN security council, etc. etc. etc. Why you'd want to replace one liar with another is beyond me. Am I fine with it? No, I'm not fine with it, I'm never fine with any American troops being killed, but just like our troops do I understand that some lives are sometimes lost to save countless others. That's why we have troops-to protect our national security. I wish none of them ever had to die, but that's not the world we live in unfortunately.
< Actually, John O'Neill has been disputing Kerry's version of events for 30 years now, not sure how that qualifies as "coming out of nowhere". Obviously (unlike your comparison to moveon.org) this organization had no reason to exist until John Kerry was the candidate, hence it sprung up only after he was nominated. >
< Bush scored in the high nineties on his leadership ability and succificient in the other categories. The unit he joined had pilot positions that were open to anyone who qualified, could dedicate a year to full time flight training, and wanted to make a 5 year part time committment after that. That's the facts. You can find the links in the archieves. There is no indication that GHWB interceded on his behalf in any way.>
You are free to call him on whatever you choose, just as I am free to comment on the statement as well. As I've already said, I agree it was an unfortunate statement to make. But I think we all know that terrorism is a concept-it is not another government or specific group of people. We can make sure that terrorism does not achieve its aims but we certainly can never completely eradicate all terrorism from the face of the earth-it's been going on since the beginning of time. I don't think there is any way Bush could have answered this question that wouldn't have been criticized, I've already heard him criticized many times for even CALLING it a war on terrorism, let alone claiming to be able to win it. In the end though, actions speak louder than words. I believe we need to be on the offense, not just the defense when it comes to terrorism, and clearly George Bush shares my view.
Right, Kerry is an honorable heroic veteran and all who disagree are lying Republican pawns. I forgot.
The mission of toppling Saddam Hussein WAS accomplished-and another mission of rebuilding Iraq and providing security to a fledgling democracy against those who are trying to destroy it is ongoing.
We all have our own way of deciding what's right and just, mine is shared by about half the country so it's really not all that unusual.
Edited 8/30/2004 7:12 pm ET ET by liveanew
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