WASHINGTON — The White House, the Republican Party and the Bush-Cheney campaign mounted a united defense Tuesday of President Bush’s attendance record in the National Guard, and blasted Democrats for raising questions about his service.
The messages mark the first time that all the parts of Bush’s 2004 political machine have collaborated on a simultaneous line of attack, and reflect his advisers’ mounting concern about an issue they hoped had long been put to rest.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said during his televised afternoon briefing that it is "a shame that this issue was brought up four years ago during the (2000 presidential) campaign, and it is a shame that it is being brought up again."
"The president fulfilled his (military) duties," he said. "The president was honorably discharged. I think it is sad to see some stoop to this level, especially so early in an election year."
Bush’s aides did not release new information to clear up questions about a one-year gap in the public record of Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. Bush’s aides have said he reported to an Alabama unit during the period, from May 1972 to May 1973.
No paper record has surfaced that documents Bush’s attendance. A former officer of the Alabama unit on Monday repeated to The Washington Post his assertion that he did not recall seeing Bush on the base. The officer, retired Brig. Gen. William Turnipseed, hedged from a similar statement he made to the Boston Globe in 2000, and said he could not recall if he had been on base much at that time.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Terence McAuliffe accused Bush this week of being "AWOL," absent without leave.
The decision to mount a counterattack Tuesday was controversial within Bush’s organization, with some aides saying the strategy would just draw extra attention to the charges. But others said the issue was beginning to get news coverage and the accusations cannot go unanswered.
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