Why Bush Left Texas

From the Nation:

This central issue, whether Bush did or did not complete his duty--and if not, why--has in recent days been obscured by a raging sideshow: a debate over the accuracy of documents aired on CBS's 60 Minutes. Last week CBS News reported on newly unearthed memos purportedly prepared by Bush's now-deceased commanding officer. In those documents, the officer, Lieut. Col. Jerry Killian, appeared to be establishing for the record events occurring at the time Bush abruptly left his Texas Air National Guard unit in May 1972. Among these: that Bush had failed to meet unspecified Guard standards and refused a direct order to take a physical exam, and that pressure was being applied on Killian and his superiors to whitewash whatever troubling circumstances Bush was in.

Questions have been raised about the authenticity of those memos, but the criticism of them appears at this time speculative and inconclusive, while their substance is consistent with a growing body of documentation and analysis.

If it is demonstrated that profound behavioral problems marred Bush's wartime performance and even cut short his service, it could seriously challenge Bush's essential appeal as a military steward and guardian of societal values. It could also explain the incomplete, contradictory and shifting explanations provided by the Bush camp for the President's striking invisibility from the military during the final two years of his six-year military obligation. And it would explain the savagery and rapidity of the attack on the CBS documents.

Click here for the rest.

Okay, I'm willing to admit the possibility that these smoking gun documents may be forgeries (which is weird, because Killian's secretary who says they are fakes also says that they reflect what her boss thought anyway), but this scandal-in-waiting serves to divert attention from the fact that Bush has never really explained what the hell was going on back in the day: there are far more questions than concrete answers about his service in the Guard.

Man, if this was Clinton, there would have already been an impeachment.

Thanks to Eschaton for the Dallas Morning News link.

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