The Press Corps has re-discovered its testicles

[mburbank]

Here's the transcript I think folks are refering to:

QUESTION: I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about people, you know --

MCCLELLAN: Right.

QUESTION: -- comrades in arms?

MCCLELLAN: No, that's why I said everything that came to our attention that was available, we made available at that time during the 2000 campaign.

QUESTION: Well, you said you were looking for people. And I take it you didn't find any people?

MCCLELLAN: Yes, I mean, obviously we would have made people available [if we'd found any]. ...

QUESTION: Scott, can I follow on this because I do think this is important? You know, it might strike some as odd that there isn't anyone who can stand up and say, "I served with George W. Bush," in Alabama or in Houston in the Guard unit, particularly because there are people, his superiors, who have stepped forward in Alabama and in Houston who have said in the past several years that they have no recollection of him being there and serving. So isn't that odd that nobody -- you can't produce anyone to corroborate what these records. --

MCCLELLAN: We're talking about some 30 years ago. You're perfectly welcome to go back and talk to individuals from that time period.

QUESTION: I would have thought --

MCCLELLAN: But, but these --

QUESTION: -- you guys would have had a real --

MCCLELLAN: These documents -- these documents make it very clear that the president of the United States fulfilled his duties --

QUESTION: Well, that's subject to interpretation.

MCCLELLAN: When you serve, you are paid for that service. And these documents outline the days on which he was paid. That means he served. And these documents also show that he met his requirements. And it's just really a shame that people are continuing to bring this issue up when --

QUESTION: I understand that --

MCCLELLAN: No, no, no. People asked for records to be released that would demonstrate he met his requirements. The records have now been fully released.

QUESTION: (off mike)

MCCLELLAN: The fact -- the facts are clear. The facts are clear.

QUESTION: -- you can't read them. Have you looked at these? I mean, you can't -- how are we supposed to read these?

Here's my take. He never showed up in Alabama, but he did his ttoal hours for the guard, so they pid him and discharged him and didn't make waves becuase of who he was. That by itself is not a big deal. I'm sure a lot of folks sort of greased through at that point in time, and many of them did it becuase they were important people. The Vietnam war was a bad deal and however you kept from going is your own business. Carter pardoned the folks who went to Canada, I don't think W's sketchy performance is anything except kind of lame.

BUT.

He insists he served in Alabama. No one, not one single soul recalls this, and the administration has been looking since W. ran for governor of Texas.

AND

He lost is flight privilidges bcuase he failed to show up for a physical. You know who paid to train him to fly a fighter? Your parents and mine. Other families sacrificed thir kids. W. could have at least taken his service seriously enough not to let his flight certification lapse. It's disrespectful, and it sure as hell isn't anything he ought to be proud of, as McLellan keeps insisting.

That being said, it was 30 years ago, and a man can change a hell of a lot in 30 years. Like his DUI which he admitted in the last election, if Bush woould simply step up, as he had in other instances and say "I wasn't much of a person bck then. I regret that, and I've grown." I wouldn't care. I still wouldn't vote for him, but this wouldn't make an iota of difference to me. It's the sleezy finger pointing way he handles it that speaks to his character.

I'm going to copy this last part into other relevant threads.