John Moltz

Hisssssssss...

Is that the sound of a balloon deflating I hear?

White House Sees "Gutter Politics" in Bush Guard Flap

If you can't bear to wade through the morass of material on Bush's time in the National Guard, this clip from Reuters nicely sums up where we are.

The White House had hoped its release of pay and service records would show that Bush had met his duties.

But those records also showed long absences during his final two years of service -- a period in which Bush worked for some time on a political campaign in Alabama. Democrats and other critics said the records were inadequate.

In other words, the White House was hoping the press would prove as incurious as they did in 2000 and the matter would magically vanish. That has not occured. The problem with Scotty McClellan's assertion is that the press has realized no one has seen proof Bush completed his service adequately.

As Jon Stewart said on the Daily Show last night about the White House press corps, "Where the hell have you been?!"

Long-held questions over Bush's record, during a time when National Guard service was seen as a way for the privileged to avoid being drafted for Vietnam War duty, have resurfaced this year as Bush seeks to cast himself as a "war president" for his effort to win re-election in November.

This is good. The press has also made the connection that it's not just the Democrats' questioning of Bush's record that makes this an issue, it's Bush's very campaign strategy. And if Bush cannot talk about Iraq and 9/11 incessantly like he did Sunday without looking like... well... he did on Sunday, then what does he have to run on?

Fear has been the basis of this administration since 9/11, their message being "Be afraid and be afraid for ever, and welcome your Republican overlords." I think people are tired of being afraid. They'd rather get back to work.