I just had to write after reading the article in the Washington Post about LTC Burkett. I don't care whether he is or is not the source of the CBS documents or whether the documents are forgeries. What is important is this: George Bush was AWOL; there is absolutely no doubt about it in my mind. I was in the OHIO Air National Guard and we had a number of men like W still on the books in 1976. They had avoided the Vietnam War, gone over the hills, joined airlines for lucrative flying jobs and had not fulfilled their flying obligations. In order to just clean the slate, they all received honorable discharges and we were done with them. It left a bitter taste in my mouth. Then came W along and I tought 'he can't be serious running for office with this in his background.' Well he was serious and even though he lost, he won and he was able to bluff his way around playing the commander-in-chief. I thought I had seen it all until I saw him land on that aircraft carrier!
I believe the Harvard professor who tells about his conversation on campus with the young Bush in a flying jacket no less. W is a man without shame! Lying has become second nature to him; he has lied to us about his service record, he has lied to us about Iraq. I am so disgusted and I am so worried about this next election. He and his neocons are just so scary.

Many veterans seem to favor him, but they don't know the background. They just can't fathom that they are being lied to like this; they expect better from their commander-in-chief. How can they not support a man (John Kerry) who went to Vietnam, got shot at and came back opposing the war. A man like Kerry has seen war, as commander-in-chief he will make decisions knowing what war is just as the former President Bush did. I respected him, he did his duty and he saw war and did not try to get out of going. I sometimes wonder what he must think of his son deep down.

jcp

You are so right! People are asleep and don't know what's being fed to them by the Bushies.

You are also right that the Burkett circumstances are irrelevant to the truth of George W. Bush having been a lackluster ANG pilot and shirked his duty.

I followed the Burkett story closely because he is a friend of mine, and summarized the national media stories on him on my webpage at www.haigler.info/news/040924/ if anyone is interested in the week that was.

Thanks,
Dave Haigler