-Caveat Lector-
FORMER Sen. Max Cleland is the Democrats' designated hysteric about George
Bush's National Guard service. A triple amputee and Vietnam veteran, Cleland
is making the rounds on talk TV, basking in the affection of liberals who
have suddenly become jock-sniffers for war veterans, and working himself
into a lather about President Bush's military service. Citing such renowned
military experts as Molly Ivins, Cleland indignantly demands further
investigation into Bush's service with the Texas Air National Guard.
Bush's National Guard service is the most thoroughly investigated event
since the Kennedy assassination. But the Democrats will accept only two
possible conclusions to their baseless accusations: (1) Bush was "AWOL," or
(2) the matter needs further investigation.
Thirty years ago, Bush was granted an honorable discharge from the National
Guard ââ which would seem to put the matter to rest. But liberals want proof
that Bush actually deserved his honorable discharge. (Since when did the
party of Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd get so obsessed with
honor?)
On "Hardball" Monday night, Cleland demanded to see Bush's pay stubs for the
disputed period of time, May 1972 to May 1973. "If he was getting paid for
his weekend warrior work," Cleland said, "he should have some pay stubs to
show it."
The next day, the White House produced the pay stubs. This confirmed what
has been confirmed 1 million times before: After taking the summer off, Bush
reported for duty nine times between Nov. 29, 1972, and May 24, 1973 -- more
than enough times to fulfill his Guard duties. (And nine times more than
Bill Clinton, Barney Frank or Chuck Schumer did during the same period.)
All this has been reported -- with documentation -- many times by many news
organizations. George magazine had Bush's National Guard records 3 1/2 years
ago.
All available evidence keeps confirming Bush's honorable service with the
Guard, which leads liberals to conclude ... further investigation is needed!
No evidence will ever be enough evidence. That Bush skipped out on his
National Guard service is one of liberals' many nondisprovable beliefs, like
global warming.
Cleland also expressed outrage that Bush left the National Guard nine months
early in 1973 to go to Harvard Business School. On "Hardball," Cleland
testily remarked: "I just know a whole lot of veterans who would have loved
to have worked things out with the military and adjusted their tour of
duty." (Cleland already knows one -- Al Gore!)
When Bush left the National Guard in 1973 to go to business school, the war
was over. It might as well have been 1986. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson
had already lost the war, and President Nixon had ended it with the Paris
peace accords in January. If Bush had demanded active combat, there was no
war to send him to.
To put this in perspective, by 1973, John Kerry had already accused American
soldiers of committing war crimes in Vietnam, thrown someone else's medals
to the ground in an anti-war demonstration, and married his first heiress.
Bill Clinton had just finished three years of law school and was about to
embark upon a political career -- which would include campaign events with
Max Cleland.
Moreover, if we're going to start delving into exactly who did what back
then, maybe Max Cleland should stop allowing Democrats to portray him as a
war hero who lost his limbs taking enemy fire on the battlefields of
Vietnam.
Cleland lost three limbs in an accident during a routine noncombat mission
where he was about to drink beer with friends. He saw a grenade on the
ground and picked it up. He could have done that at Fort Dix. In fact,
Cleland could have dropped a grenade on his foot as a National Guardsman â-
or what Cleland sneeringly calls "weekend warriors." Luckily for Cleland's
political career and current pomposity about Bush, he happened to do it
while in Vietnam.
There is more than a whiff of dishonesty in how Cleland is presented to the
American people. Terry McAuliffe goes around saying, "Max Cleland, a triple
amputee who left three limbs on the battlefield of Vietnam," was thrown out
of office because Republicans "had the audacity to call Max Cleland
unpatriotic." Mr. Cleland, a word of advice: When a slimy weasel like Terry
McAuliffe is vouching for your combat record, it's time to sound "retreat"
on that subject.
Needless to say, no one ever challenged Cleland's "patriotism." His
performance in the Senate was the issue, which should not have come as a
bolt out of the blue inasmuch as he was running for re-election to the
Senate. Sen. Cleland had refused to vote for the Homeland Security bill
unless it was chock-full of pro-union perks that would have jeopardized
national security. ("OH MY GOD! A HIJACKED PLANE IS HEADED FOR THE WHITE
HOUSE!" "Sorry, I'm on my break. Please call back in two hours.")
The good people of Georgia -- who do not need lectures on admiring military
service â- gave Cleland one pass for being a Vietnam veteran. He didn't get
a lifetime pass.
Indeed, if Cleland had dropped a grenade on himself at Fort Dix rather than
in Vietnam, he would never have been a U.S. senator in the first place.
Maybe he'd be the best pharmacist in Atlanta, but not a U.S. senator. He got
into office on the basis of serving in Vietnam and was thrown out for his
performance as a senator.
Cleland wore the uniform, he was in Vietnam, and he has shown courage by
going on to lead a productive life. But he didn't "give his limbs for his
country," or leave them "on the battlefield." There was no bravery involved
in dropping a grenade on himself with no enemy troops in sight. That could
have happened in the Texas National Guard -- which Cleland denigrates while
demanding his own sanctification.
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