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Wednesday, September 15, 2004
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Docu-Drama
Questions about President Bush's National Guard service during
the early 1970s were brought to the fore last week when CBS
reported it had memos signed by Bush's squadron commander from
when he served in the Texas Air National Guard. The memos were
highly critical of Bush's performance. Although CBS News's Dan
Rather stands by his report, many experts -- including some that
CBS used to validate the documents -- have expressed serious
doubts about the authenticity of documents. But, much like the
initial Swift Boat ad that attacked Sen. John F. Kerry's Vietnam
record, a new controversy gives a candidate's opponents a new
point of attack.
Following the report, the White House released without comment
the documents it was provided by CBS. The official White House
mantra on Bush's Guard service is that Bush was honorably
discharged and all available records have been made public, end
of story. First lady Laura Bush on Monday said the documents
were apparent forgeries and the Republican National Committee
yesterday blamed Democrats for giving the memos to CBS. -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E1602949E17F3F58B15A0
The Post's Mike Allen on Tuesday covered Bush's address to the
National Guard Association, where the president took a pass on
talking about the documents. Allen reports -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E8632949E17F3F58B15A0
that Democrats plan to continue to raise the issue:
"The Democratic National Committee on Tuesday announced
'Operation Fortunate Son,' an effort to impugn Bush's
credibility by drawing attention to questions about his Guard
service, with 30 events planned in 21 states this week. A video
that the committee is distributing widely uses clips of various
statements Bush has made about his service, paired with
apparently contradictory testimony from others. Republicans said
all legitimate questions have been answered." Read More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E9622949E17F3F58B15A0
The Post's Michael Dobbs, who reported on concerns over the CBS
memos' authenticity last week, took a closer look at Bush's
Guard records that were released by the Pentagon, writing -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E76D2949E17F3F58B15A0 : "President Bush's
military records,
including personal flight logs just released by the Pentagon,
paint a picture of a solid, if hardly outstanding, pilot who
energetically performed his duties for much of a six-year stint
with the Air National Guard. Then, in the spring of 1972, the
picture changes." Read More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E86C2949E17F3F58B15A0
Don't expect coverage of the candidates' Vietnam-era service to
go away anytime soon, according to The Post's Howard Kurtz. In
his Media Notes column on Monday he wrote -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E56F2949E17F3F58B15A0 : "From the contours
of Sen. John F. Kerry's
war wounds to Bush's failure to take a National Guard physical
to a book's disputed allegations of drug use at Camp David, the
media seem consumed these days with excavating the
down-and-dirty past." Read More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E66E2949E17F3F58B15A0
More Coverage:
Document Experts Say CBS Ignored Memo 'Red Flags' -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E2692949E17F3F58B15A0
Expert Cited by CBS Says He Didn't Authenticate Papers -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E3682949E17F3F58B15A0
Dana Milbank's White House Notebook: Bush's Records Keep Trickling Out -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E96B2949E17F3F58B15A0
Cha-Ching
How much, you say? In his analysis of the cost of Bush's
second-term agenda, Mike Allen crunched the numbers, reporting -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E06A2949E17F3F58B15A0 : "The expansive
agenda President Bush laid
out at the Republican National Convention was missing a price
tag, but administration figures show the total is likely to be
well in excess of $3
trillion over a decade.
"A staple of Bush's stump speech is his claim that his Democratic challenger, John F.
Kerry,
has proposed $2 trillion in long-term spending, a figure the
Massachusetts senator's campaign calls exaggerated. But the cost
of the new tax breaks and spending outlined by Bush at the GOP
convention far eclipses that of the Kerry plan." Read More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E0952949E17F3F58B15A0
Poll Analysis
Last week we promised results from a Washington Post-ABC News
survey that was being conducted. The poll showed Bush pulling
ahead of Kerry by nine percentage points. What may be of larger
importance for the Bush campaign, wrote -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E1942949E17F3F58B15A0
The Post's John F. Harris and Thomas E. Ricks in their analysis, was that the poll
data indicated
there was no backlash in public opinion over the mounting deaths
in Iraq:
"The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll showed Bush with a 53
percent to 37 percent advantage over Democrat John F. Kerry when
voters were asked who they think would do a better job handling
the situation in Iraq. These results challenge what some public
opinion analysts had for years assumed was a reliable link --
which some scholars argued operated with an almost mathematical
precision -- between combat deaths and erosion of support for
military operations." Read More
- http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E8972949E17F3F58B15A0
Post-ABC Poll:
Complete Data, With Demographic Breakdown -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E9962949E17F3F58B15A0
Poll Trends - http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E4912949E17F3F58B15A0
More Coverage:
Bush Support Strong After Convention -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E5902949E17F3F58B15A0
Bush Stresses Commander-in-Chief Role -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E2932949E17F3F58B15A0
Shrinking Battleground
Other national and state post-convention polls weren't kind to
Kerry, either. The Post's Dan Balz wrote -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E3922949E17F3F58B15A0
that Bush's bounce leaves Kerry "with a smaller battlefield upon which to contest the
presidential
election and a potentially more difficult route to an electoral
college victory than his advisers envisioned a few months ago."
Read More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E19D2949E17F3F58B15A0
Dementia and the Voter
Both political parties are starting to take note of the
heretofore largely ignored issue of voter competency. The Post's
Shankar Vedantam examined -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E29C2949E17F3F58B15A0
the issue this week: "As swing states with large elderly populations such as Florida
gear
up for another presidential election, a sleeper issue has been
gaining attention on medical, legal and political radar screens:
Many people with advanced dementia appear to be voting in
elections -- including through absentee ballot. Although there
are no national statistics, two studies in Pennsylvania and
Rhode Island found that patients at dementia clinics turned out
in higher numbers than the general population." Read More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E99F2949E17F3F58B15A0
Frozen Tundra for Kerry? -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E09E2949E17F3F58B15A0
The Bush campaign is on a drive to exploit Kerry's football faux
pas in Wisconsin. The Post's Jim VandeHei wrote -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E6992949E17F3F58B15A0 : "Forget soccer moms
and NASCAR dads. The
most important demographic in these parts transcends gender and
geography -- it's Green Bay Packers fans.
"Both candidates are targeting them with the ferocity of a Brett
Favre bullet, but only John F. Kerry has fumbled the name of the
hallowed grounds on which the Packers play, the frozen tundra of
Curly Lambeau Field." Read More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E7982949E17F3F58B15A0
- Mike Snyder - [EMAIL PROTECTED] ONLINE FEATURES
George W. Bush reached into each of the spheres surrounding his life to find
fundraisers for
his first presidential bid. -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E39B2949E17F3F58B15A0
%LINK_ID="49997739
See how President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry compare on the major issues of the
campaign.
- http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E49A2949E17F3F58B15A0
%LINK_ID="49997742
OPINION
David S. Broder
Middle East Reality -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E2852949E17F3F58B15A0
As the decibel level rises in the debate over Iraq between President Bush and Sen.
John F.
Kerry, the argument is veering further and further from reality
and neither man is talking much sense about what one of them
will face the day after inauguration in January. More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E3842949E17F3F58B15A0
Post Editorial Series: The Choice
The Choice on the Deficit -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E0872949E17F3F58B15A0
President Bush and Democratic nominee Sen. John F. Kerry each promise to cut the
federal budget
deficit in half in the next several years. As the latest
projections from the Congressional Budget Office show, there are
two problems with these pledges: They're based on unrealistic
assumptions, and -- even if they could be done -- they aim at
the wrong target. More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E1862949E17F3F58B15A0
Elie Wiesel
Mean Season: Why the Rage, and Not a Real Debate? -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E6812949E17F3F58B15A0
Once upon a time, politics was a noble pursuit. Working for the polis, the city, the
republic
or the community signified a desire to give back what one had
received. One had to be worthy of this honor. And many leaders
were. Nowadays the word "politics" evokes at best a contemptuous
smile. More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E7802949E17F3F58B15A0
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Kerry Asserts Bush Has Misled Voters -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E4832949E17F3F58B15A0
Sen. John F. Kerry, stepping up his campaign to convince voters President Bush is
dishonest,
told a group of seniors Tuesday that the White House attempted
to conceal government statistics showing the elderly will soon
pay a much bigger share of their Social Security income on
Medicare expenses. More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E5822949E17F3F58B15A0
Kerry Criticizes Drug Plan -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E38D2949E17F3F58B15A0
President Bush charged Monday that the middle class under a President Kerry would be
forced
to pay higher taxes to fund a government takeover of medicine --
making some of his most extensive remarks about health care in
months as part of his advisers' plan to show concern about
domestic issues before debates with Sen. John F. Kerry. More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E48C2949E17F3F58B15A0
AD Watch: Bush Rips Kerry Health Plan -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E18F2949E17F3F58B15A0
Kerry Blasts Bush on Guns -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E28E2949E17F3F58B15A0
Sen. John F. Kerry blasted President Bush Monday for allowing the ban on
semiautomatic weapons
to expire, as the Democratic nominee intensified his attack on
the president's character, consistency and commitment to
fighting terrorism. More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E8892949E17F3F58B15A0
Cutting Into the Checks -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E9882949E17F3F58B15A0
New campaign finance rules have prompted businesses to sharply curtail donations to
presidential
candidates. Overall, local businesses and their employees gave
45 percent less to presidential hopefuls and the national
parties than they did in the 2000 election. More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E58B2949E17F3F58B15A0
Swift Boat Group's Tally: $6.7 Million -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E68A2949E17F3F58B15A0
Heinz Kerry's Campaign Balancing Act -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E5B52949E17F3F58B15A0
When solo campaigning, Teresa Heinz Kerry conducts health care seminars of a sort,
with other
panelists, that are often 90 minutes to two hours long. Most
anyone you ask in attendance -- Democrat, independent or
Republican -- will use words such as "impressed" and "charmed"
in their reviews. But then there are those "only an idiot,"
"shove it" moments. More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E6B42949E17F3F58B15A0
OTHER ELECTIONS NEWS
Okla. Senate Candidate Is Accused of Fraud -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E3B72949E17F3F58B15A0
One of the most competitive Senate races in the country turned nasty this week, as
former
GOP congressman and obstetrician Tom Coburn has had to respond
to published reports that he committed Medicaid fraud 14 years
ago. More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E4B62949E17F3F58B15A0
Incumbents Prevail in Final Day of Primaries -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E9B12949E17F3F58B15A0
Incumbent governors and senators nationwide easily turned back challenges yesterday
as eight
states held primaries, including a divisive contest for an open
governor's seat in Washington state. Other states voting were
Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island,
Vermont and Wisconsin. More -
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W8RT04434E0B02949E17F3F58B15A0
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