On Saturday July 24, 2004,
the Los Angeles Times published a story by Richard Serrano about
the release of additional records on President Bush's service in the
National Guard. Its title was,
"More of Bush's National Guard Records Discovered: Payroll
data believed lost show he skipped duty in Alabama in 1972
but met his obligation." (emphasis added)
Although the article's
title claims that Bush "skipped duty," Serrano fails to provide even
one example or instance of the President failing to fulfill
any requirement of his Guard service obligation. Although
Democratic hacks have tried to raise questions about Bush's service in
1972, the article clearly cites evidence that the President
completely fulfilled his Guard obligation that year. In fact, the
piece quotes a government official that Bush "accumulated enough points
by performing Guard duty between October 1971 and April 1972 that
he was not required to perform any more service through the rest of 1972."
(emphasis added) In the next paragraph, Serrano wrote, "Though officials
said Bush was not required to show up for duty because he had
enough points, several Alabama guardsmen have recalled seeing him
there." (Bush transferred from Texas to Alabama in '72.)
Where exactly is the
"skipped duty" part? TheMediaReport.com is
still looking ... not.
By the way, lest there be
any doubt about the bias of Serrano and the Los Angeles Times,
Serrano felt compelled to add this to his article: "In contrast, Kerry
enlisted in the Navy and volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam. In
Southeast Asia he earned a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and three Purple
Hearts." What does this have to do with the release of Bush's National
Guard records? That's right ... Nothing.