What’s the history here? Barnes’ first public statement about Bush-and-the-Guard occurred in 1999 — back in a time when the national press was avoiding this topic for all it was worth. Barnes was forced to testify in a court case about his role in this matter. George Lardner reported the story for the Washington Post:
LARDNER (9/28/99): Former speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Ben Barnes said under oath today that he recommended George W. Bush for a pilot’s slot in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War at the behest of a Houston businessman close to the Bush family.
Testifying in a deposition for a lawsuit that has stirred up allegations of preferential treatment for Bush, now the governor of Texas seeking the Republican presidential nomination, Barnes said he relayed that information to a top Bush campaign official, Don Evans, more than a year ago.
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To the Editor of the New York Times:
Re “Portrait of George Bush in ’72: Unanchored in Turbulent Time” (front page, Sept. 20):
Surely the simplest way to determine whether President Bush fulfilled his duties as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard is to ask him to produce his personal pilot’s log book.
As a former Navy fighter pilot, I am aware that all military pilots are required to keep a log book that is a detailed record of the pilot’s activities, both in the air and on the ground, while in uniform. Not only is each flight recorded by date, aircraft, mission and flight time, but also all ground drills, flight physicals, qualifications and training are entered as well.
Production of Mr. Bush’s log book would reveal how much flight time he had in the F-102 and whether he fulfilled his duties. In the interest of the American public, he should now provide full details of his Guard service.
Richard Moody
Princeton Junction, N.J.
Sept. 20, 2004