Did He Serve Honorably, or Didn't He?

Even though the story of Dubya's missing year in the National Guard isn't new, the news coverage of the last two weeks certainly makes it seem as if it is. During the 2000 presidential campaign the .:Boston Globe:. was the only publication to delve into the story and report it. The Globe highlighted the contradiction between what Dubya wrote in his 1999 autobiography—"I continued flying with my unit for the next several years"— and National Guard records that show he did not fly for 18 months (1972 and 1973).

The neo-conservative defense is that the issue is purely political and has no merit. Interestingly enough, it was neo-cons who labeled the previous president a .:draft dodger:. and insisted that it reflected on his ability to serve the people of the United States and command the military. In this instance a sitting president who failed to complete guard duty is undoubtedly an issue of the man's credibility. Unfortunately for them, Democrats may be angry enough this time around to press for answers to the very real questions surrounding Dubya's missing time in the National Guard.

Today's "document dump" by the White House hasn't assuaged the doubts about his service, nor is it in accordance with Georgie's .:affirmative answer:. on Meet The Press that he would "authorize the release of everything to settle this". As usual, Smirky McCokespoon says one thing and does something totally different.