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Times Watch for February 12, 2004

Old Anti-Bush Whine in New Bottle

     The Times squeezes 1,050 words out of old allegations about Bush's National Guard service from former Texas National Guardsman Bill Burkett. Thursday's story by Ralph Blumenthal, "Move to Screen Bush File in 90's Is Reported," opens: "A retired lieutenant colonel in the Texas National Guard complained to a member of the Texas Senate in 1998 that aides to Gov. George W. Bush improperly screened Mr. Bush's National Guard files in a search for information that could embarrass the governor in future elections."

     Halfway through the story, Blumenthal mildly notes Burkett's other grievances: "Mr. Burkett's letter to Senator Barrientos was part of a running battle that he waged with the National Guard after retiring in January 1998. In it, Mr. Burkett complained of 'severe retaliation' from General James for what he said was reporting 'illegal acts' within the National Guard. He also complained about the government's failure to pay for his medical care after suffering from a tropical disease after a military assignment to Panama in 1997. Before finally winning medical benefits in July 1998, he said, he suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized for depression."

     Slate's Eric Umansky, in his news summary column "Today's Papers," digs deeper into Burkett's history and finds "the whistleblower has an axe to grind." Umansky links to a March 2003 piece from Burkett, which includes some conspiratorial rambling showing Burkett has, to put it mildly, some issues with Bush:

     "I know GW Bush and his inner circle very well. As I said, a UN vote would not stop GW Bush from attacking Iraq. Nor will anything else. And weapons of mass destruction will be discovered in great quantities; but the entire affair will stink to high heavens because it will be as staged as the White House press conference you just viewed. The human death toll will publicly not be mentioned, yet in truth, it will far exceed 120,000….Now I feel sickness that today another massive group of people, held worthless by this anointed king, will be trampled upon like grapes. But their blood will not be rendered into wine. It will be spilled into the sands of this desert or another, or on the streets of Washington, or in the halls of the US Congress, or in the courts….We must now revert to the history of Europe to discern what to do. We must study the nemesis of France and how Napoleon was felled before understanding the damage a tyrant does to a nation and society. We must examine the ruthless and dictatorial rise of yet another of the three small men--one whose name is not spoken out of fear of reprisal, but his name was Adolf."

For the rest of Blumenthal's story, click here.

• AWOL | Ralph Blumenthal | Bill Burkett | George W. Bush | Iraq War | National Guard

"Conservatives" and "Others"

     Carl Hulse's Thursday story on Bush's budget lays out the political terrain: "Senate budget writers are already bracing for a difficult fight as they try to balance the demands of conservatives who want to take the same approach as the House Republicans and others who believe that the Bush administration budget plan is too stingy."

     Outside the New York Times, senators who find Bush's $2.4 trillion budget "too stingy" are generally known as "liberals."

For the rest of Hulse's story on Bush's budget, click here.

• Budget | George W. Bush | Carl Hulse | Labeling Bias

Vote-Deprived D.C. "PR Embarrassment" for Bush?

     An international human rights commission ruled the U.S. is violating international law by denying D.C. residents a vote in Congress. Wednesday's story by perpetual Democratic optimist James Dao manages to spot in the ruling a potential embarrassment for Bush: "Indeed, several Congressional officials said the ruling on voting rights in Washington would most likely be ignored. But they acknowledged that it could become a public relations embarrassment for the United States, particularly at a time when critics abroad describe the nation as being inclined to ignore international agreements and act unilaterally."

For the rest of Dao on D.C. voting rights, click here.

• James Dao | D.C. | International | Voting Rights

E-mail TimesWatch Director, Clay Waters, with TimesWatch feedback at cwaters@mediaresearch.org