Barnes in a 1999 article said he called Guard on Bush's behalf - no
debunking by daughter then?



Barnes says he called Guard on Bush's behalf

By Michael Holmes
Associated Press Writer
Story last updated at 12:10 p.m. on Tuesday, September 28, 1999

AUSTIN, Texas -- The former speaker of the Texas House of
Representatives acknowledged Monday that he called the head of the
Texas Air National Guard in 1968 to recommend George W. Bush for a
pilot slot during the Vietnam War.

But Ben Barnes, who later was lieutenant governor, said the request
for his help came from a Bush family friend -- not Bush or his father,
who then was a congressman.

The Texas governor and Republican presidential front-runner,
meanwhile, insisted again that neither he nor his father sought such
assistance when he joined the Guard.

''I can tell you what happened. Nothing happened. My Guard unit was
looking for pilots and I flew for the Guard,'' Bush said at a campaign
appearance south of Houston.

''I'm proud of my service and any allegation that my dad asked for
special favors is simply not true. ... I didn't ask anybody to help
get me to the Guard either,'' Bush said.

Barnes, a Democrat, has been at the center of questions about Bush's
Vietnam-era service for several weeks.

His name surfaced in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Dallas by the
former executive director of the Texas Lottery. Lawrence Littwin has
sued GTECH Corp., the lottery operator, alleging that the company is
to blame for his firing in 1997, after four months on the job.

According to court records, Littwin's lawyers wanted to question
Barnes, who used to lobby for GTECH, about whether GTECH was allowed
to keep its lucrative state contract in exchange for Barnes' silence
about the Guard matter.

That theory has been dismissed as unfounded by GTECH, Barnes and Bush.
Barnes testified for several hours Monday in a deposition in the case.

Afterwards, his lawyer issued a written statement saying Barnes had
been contacted by the now-deceased Sidney Adger, a Houston oilman and
friend of the elder Bush.

''Mr. Barnes was contacted by Sid Adger and asked to recommend George
W. Bush for a pilot position with the Air National Guard. Barnes
called Gen. (James) Rose (Texas Air Guard commander) and did so,'' the
statement said.

''Neither Congressman Bush nor any other member of the Bush family
asked Barnes' help. Barnes has no knowledge that Governor Bush or
President Bush knew of Barnes' recommendation,'' the statement said.

Barnes also said he met in September 1998 with Donald L. Evans, a
longtime friend and chief fund-raiser for Governor Bush. Barnes told
Evans about Adger's request, and ''Governor Bush wrote Barnes a note
thanking him for his candor in acknowledging that Barnes received no
call from any member of the Bush family.''

In an interview with The Associated Press, Evans said he met with
Barnes on his own initiative, without informing the governor in
advance. At the time, he was Bush's gubernatorial campaign chairman
and was concerned only about that contest, Evans said.

Bush joined the National Guard in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam
War, serving until late 1973.

The Republican governor has said for several years that he received no
special treatment. Both he and his father, the former president, have
said they didn't ask for help in finding the Guard opening.

''I don't know if Ben Barnes did or not -- but he was not asked by me
or my dad,'' Bush said Monday.

''People are relying on whether a man who is deceased (Adger) tried to
help. I can just tell you, from my perspective, I never asked for, I
don't believe I received any special treatment,'' Bush said.

Bush indicated that he wasn't concerned about Barnes' deposition.
''I think everybody ought to tell the truth when they're being
deposed. I'm confident he will,'' Bush said. ''I'm not sure what Ben
Barnes is going to say. But I know what the facts are.''

Asked if he considered questions about his National Guard service a
personal attack, Bush replied, ''I think it's just politics.''

http://www.ardmoreite.com/stories/09...w_barnes.shtml

OBVIOUSLY, SINCE THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN IN 1999, IT HAD NOTHING TO
DO WITH JOHN KERRY'S CAMPAIGN.





Walt wrote in message ...
John Deere wrote:
ridiculous paranoid freetard crap snipped

You'll believe *anything*, won't you?

Wanna buy a sailboat from Granada? Only a teesy-weensy bit of storm
danmage.