Updated: W on the National Guard in '88

Update: The more I think about this video clip, the angrier I get. You know what the video above reminds me of? A mouthy person who narrowly avoids a severe butt whipping at the hands of someone much larger and meaner when his friends step between them. Once the big, bad man is out of the room, the lucky, mouth person boasts, "It's a good thing you stopped that guy, or I really would have beat his ass."

What balls Bush has - a ticket to the National Guard during the Vietnam conflict was a ticket to stay home and not have to fight. If Bush were that eager to fight and serve his country in a time of war, he very easily could have gone off to Vietnam and flew jets. But Bush was the fortunate beneficiary of his daddy's connections to jump over thousands of others on the list to get a plum assignment in the Texas Air National Guard. This is the textbook behavior of a chicken hawk Republican. For similar behavior, see Wolfowitz, Paul or Cheney, Dick.

The fact that Gore and Kerry didn't bludgeon Bush with this video clip (especially Kerry) during their respective campaigns against our National Embarrassment should be an embarrassment to the people who ran those campaigns.

Maybe I should be a little more forgiving about Bush's comments during this interview 19 years ago - after all, Dubya was still on the sauce back then, and maybe even the booger sugar.

**

Original Post: This sure was good for a laugh this morning before I get to the serious stuff - take a look at this video of an interview between Connie Chung and Dubya on the floor of the 1988 Republican National Convention. I know, I know - it's ancient history, but talk about hubris and arrogance - it's all on full display here. I wonder where this video was in 2000, Mr. Gore?

My favorite parts:

Bush: "I flew fighters in the Texas Air National Guard for which I’m very proud."

[Snip]

They should have probably called up the National Guard in those days. Maybe we would have done better in Vietnam.

Well, the man's got balls, without a doubt.

I also got a kick out of Chung's question about people making phone calls for Quayle, and if anyone had ever done that for him. Notice Bush's response: "I don't think so." What exactly does that mean? Translation: I don't want to answer.

Just another example of blatant lies that he got away with in 2000, and 2004. Or, put this another way - if Karl Rove were working for Al Gore in 2000, imagine for a nanosecond what Rove would have done with that video?

On the Internets: a nasty W ad in kiwi land

I found this on the Internets today ~ a very unflattering billboard with our president, from the land of kiwi & sheep - New Zealand. I bring it to you not because I was happy in any way when I saw it, but because it's yet another example of a foreign nation, New Zealand, traditionally a US ally, turning against us because of our disastrous foray into Iraq.

It's a pretty sad commentary on what our "foreign policy" has become, which is nothing short of a debacle. And Dick Cheney flying to Asia and the South Pacific, accusing Democrats (in so many words) of siding with Al Qaeda isn't helping our domestic political discourse. Oh, and a footnote that I don't think I covered - anyone think it's inappropriate that Dick's visiting Australian PM John Howard, just days after he publicly states that "Al Qaeda is rooting for Barack Obama and the Democrats to prevail" in 2008? Hey, I'm sure good 'ole Dick didn't even bat an eyelash about meeting with Howard after that comment. If anything, maybe that brought on the trip in the first place. Shooter probably wanted to fly all the way over there just to personally high five him.

Shooter's a chilling, creepy vice president, and no doubt the worst in my lifetime. (Who would have thought we could have had a worse vice president since 1971 than Spiro T. Agnew, who had to resign in disgrace amid accusations of income tax evasion and bribery charges?). I also never dreamed that we'd have a vice president that made me miss Dan Quayle.

DAN QUAYLE!

Anyway, a little bit more about the billboard, from the National Business Review:

A complaint made against a Hell Pizza billboard featuring US President George Bush has been partially upheld by the Advertising Standards Complaints Board (ASCB).

The advertisement featured Mr Bush and the words "Hell. Too good for some evil bastards".

Objections were made to the use of slang in a public place, the alleged denigration of Mr Bush, and perceived blasphemy.

One of the complainants described the billboard as a vicious smear campaign against an openly Christian person.

But advertising agency Cinderella Ltd defended the billboard, saying that it tapped in to a growing sense of outrage about the invasion of Iraq.

The agency also said that use of the term "bastard" is widespread and can be considered a compliment.

The board ruled the choice of words was irresponsible, but the association with Mr Bush did not cause serious or widespread offence.

The ASCB is part of New Zealand’s self-regulatory system for monitoring the content of advertising.