the
chitrib points out that a
wol's speechifying to an army base in louisiana may not have been the salve to sooth the sting of past military record snafus that the white house was hoping for.
with the controversy over his military service still simmering, president bush came to one of the army's premier training bases tuesday to declare that he will never relent until the terrorist threat to america is removed.
several thousand troops, most dressed in battle fatigues, heartily cheered bush's remarks and showed no visible signs of protest over democratic claims that he had not shown up for part of his service in the national guard.
but bush's military record was clearly a subtext to his appearance at this military base where, after his speech, he also had lunch with an arkansas national guard unit that will soon be dispatched to iraq.
many troops would not talk on the record when asked about the controversy, but some privately expressed doubt about the president's service while others supported him. after the speech, one soldier jested, "well, i guess we will all go out and vote for john kerry now."
fine with us.