AWOL with a Dubya

UPDATE Quote from George W. Bush, First Presidential Debate, October 3, 2000:

"I think that people need to be held responsible for the actions they take in life. I think that's part of the need for a cultural change. We need to say that each of us needs to be responsible for what we do."

Mary is where I first saw this, and I took care to read the comments as well.

There are plenty of websites that have delved into the matter of Bush and his record of military service--or lack thereof--and I encourage anyone reading this to seek them out and judge for themselves (Here's an additional link to Dave Neiwert. From there take a look at the sources he provides).

As noted below, Michael Moore calling Bush a deserter is not much more of an exaggeration than saying Iraq had 25,000 liters of anthrax--or, perhaps more appropriate, citing the British government as a way of covering your ass while lying through your teeth--although I'm inclined to cut Bush a little slack on the issue of desertion, per se, because I think AWOL is more appropriate, regardless of the "defense" undertaken by the wingnuts of the right (they claim either lost military records, or argue that, in aggregate, Bush served "enough" time--the latter sort of the ultimate interpretation of "a flex schedule").

Democratic Veteran seems to have the best take on this: in spite of good evidence that Bush was AWOL, there is even better evidence that he failed to obey a direct order, in his case, an order to take a physical, which would clear him for flight status. Whether or not this was due to his fear of failing a drug test is almost a moot point--failure to obey an order is a serious charge, and one that deeply reflects the Bush character: rules are for other people, not him.

For that matter, his drug use reflects the same overriding principle.

You know, considering my political points of view, I would not normally be bashing someone for either walking out on the armed forces or breathing deeply in the presence of controlled substances. I tend to believe in a libertarian point of view in these matters, i.e., if I'm not hurting someone, stay out of my business. But it is one thing to believe this way, and quite another to say, wait, the rules that I flout MUST be enforced for anyone else. THAT'S why Bush's military record--and, indeed his drug use--is a valid question--it speaks to his character.

Which kind of flies in the face of just about everything this country stands for (see, US Constitution, Amendments 5 and 14).