# The Case against Bush (national guard) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 14, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-bush-national-guard/229231 "2004-02-14T18:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-bush-national-guard/229231/241 "2004-07-10T01:31:01Z")
Holy shit **elucidator**! That site is fantastic. I would be interested in seeing some critique of it. I also wonder why Kevin Drum hasn’t mentioned it, or perhaps I have missed it. There may not be a smoking gun, but this seems pretty compelling: > [@](#): > > As noted above, Bush’s change in status to “Inactive” could only have been accomplished if he was being discharged from the military. That could only be accomplished if Bush was considered a “non-locatee” and certified for induction through the Selective Service System. The “address sequence” found in Bush’s records provide collaborating evidence that Bush could not be located (see Appendix 2). ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-bush-national-guard/229231/242 "2004-07-10T22:01:17Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > “Searches for backup paper copies of the missing records were unsuccessful.” This is interesting in itself. Was it just Bush’s backup records that were missing, or everyone’s? We did have allegations that someone saw someone else burning Bush’s records, but the guy didn’t seem to have any confirmatory evidence for its account and seemed a bit of a crackpot. But what DID happen to those backup records? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-bush-national-guard/229231/243 "2004-07-23T22:15:15Z")
Bush’s pay records have been found and released: [Pentagon Releases Bush’s Guard Records](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=5&u=/ap/20040723/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_military_records) [Pentagon Finds Bush’s Military Payroll Records](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=615&e=5&u=/nm/20040723/pl_nm/bush_military_records_dc) [Pentagon finds, releases Bush’s 1972 Guard payroll records](http://www.boston.com/dailynews/205/wash/Pentagon_finds_releases_Bush_s:.shtml) All three stories contain something along these lines: > [@](#): > > The Pentagon on Friday released payroll records from President Bush 1972 service in the Alabama National Guard, saying its earlier contention the records were destroyed was an “inadvertent oversight.” > The two computerized payroll record sheets cover July through September of 1972, when Bush was working as a campaign volunteer in Alabama. The future president had been transferred from the Texas Air National Guard to the Alabama unit so he could stay in Alabama. Only the earliest gets to the meat of the matter: > [@](#): > > Like records released earlier by the White House, the newly released computerized payroll records show no indication Bush drilled with the Alabama unit during July, August and September of 1972. Pay records covering all of 1972, released previously, also indicated no guard service for Bush during those three months. > > The records do not give any new information toward determining whether Bush kept his National Guard commitments during 1972, when he transferred to the Alabama National Guard unit so he could work on the U.S. Senate campaign of a family friend. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-bush-national-guard/229231/244 "2004-07-24T13:15:25Z")
What really clinches this is that the constant refrain of the White House is not “he drilled at those times when he was supposed to” but rather “he was honorably discharged” which is neither here nor there, because via pulling some strings it wouldn’t have been too hard to get him an honorable discharge no matter what he did or failed to do. The White House clearly doesn’t want to get caught in something that is later revealed to be a lie, so they are trying misdirection. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-bush-national-guard/229231/245 "2004-07-24T14:01:32Z")
That would never work, **Apos**! It would require a supine and fellating tedia, one that blandly parrots the party line without thought. Consider this from hard-hitting media horse Judy Woodruff: “…WOODRUFF: So, Jamie, to clarify, this indicates that President Bush was present and putting his service while he was in the Air Guard, even though he wasn’t flying, am I correct?..” [http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0407/23/ip.01.html](http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0407/23/ip.01.html) By way of _Eschaton_ [http://atrios.blogspot.com/](http://atrios.blogspot.com/) ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-bush-national-guard/229231/246 "2004-07-24T14:16:52Z")
Absence of evidence is evidence of presence? What the hell is Judy Woodruff smoking? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-bush-national-guard/229231.md?page=12)