What I am posting is cut and pasted from a response I made on the thread started by JamesB3 about whether the AWOL story is now over. I do not believe that it is, because, I think it reinforces other ideas about whether Bush is honest, and I think the press is now interested, and/or b elieves it c an make enough of the case to keep the public interest.
So, read what is below in that light, recognizing that I calim neither special insight nor great skill in articulating what I think I perceive.
Last night on NewsHour David Brooks (okay, I can't stand him either, but that is what makes it all the more powerful) was remarking how the real issue for Bush right now is that people are doubting his credibility. We also see that in the Wash Post - ABC polling data.
Establish in the public mind and in the press that connecting Bush and truth in the same sentence is problematic, and you undercut a major part of the basis of his likeability and electability.
So let me pile on if I can. I will repeat what I said in response to someone elswhere. Bush has consistently claimed [falsely, of coure} that the reason he lost his flight status was because he was in AL and couldn't get to TX for a physical from his personal physician [I will deconstruct this a bit later]. But he was able to get dental treatment /exam from military personnel, which shows that his argument, even if it were valid, was false.
Now, here's the deconstruction. In about the past week or so [I don't know how much earlier} the story about not getting the physical has changed, to since he wasn't going to be flying any more, there was no point -- one does wonder if this change of 'explanation" was because they knew they were going to use the dental exam as a basis for claiming he reported for service in AL, and realized that it might undercut their previous claim?
Now - about not flying anymore? When he requested a temporary change of assignment to work on a political campaign, he knew he wasn't going to fly anymore? Hello.... could it be that he knew he could not pass a flight physical? And might be not because of druges, but because of a medical condition that would disqualify him, and which has never been revealed to the American public? And would this tie in with the crhyptic remark made by Mark Kleiman recently?
So here are several possible tasks for people:
- put together, with dates, the various explanations offered by Bush nad his people about why he lost flight status.
- Collate with other information, such as the release of his dental record, and the payroll records after they appeared on the web.
And then maybe we will have something other than random speculation which might explain more than we ever expected?
I wish I had time for this legwork, but I have a ton of student projects to evaluate this 3-day weekend.