George Bush in the "Champagne Unit"



On 60 Minutes II tonight, the former Lt. Governor Ben Barnes, who got Bush out of Vietnam and into the "Champagne Unit," will tell Dan Rather how ashamed he is of that act of kindness to a privileged constituent.

Granted, this is so many years after the fact, and it comes off as somewhat sleazy to trot this washed up pol before the cameras -- oh, and you can be sure the Kerry campaign has sanctioned this guy, to kill the Swifty momentum. But, hey, if Karl Rove is going to let the Swift Boat veterans garbage linger, gather momentum, despite the fact that almost every editorial board in this nation has decried them, then, by God, this is par for the course. This is combat for the leadership of the world (The Corsair hums some of Strauss' Alpine Symphony).

It is not a moment to be proud of (as if The Corsair wouldn't have the right strings pulled to get into the "champagne unit" when faced with an immoral war like Vietnam that even former Secretary of Defense McGeorge Bundy has apologized for), but it shows that the Democratic Party still has a spleen and manliness and is capable of retaliatory "violence" in winning this Presidency. From the CBS website:

"Former Texas House Speaker and Lt. Governor Ben Barnes tells Correspondent Dan Rather that he regrets what he calls the 'life or death' decision he made to help President Bush get into the Texas Air National Guard. Rather's report, which will include new information about Bush's military service, will be broadcast on 60 Minutes, tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

"Following are quotes from Rather's interview with Barnes: Barnes on his decision to help George W. Bush and others get into the National Guard:

"'I've thought about it an awful lot and you walk through the Vietnam memorial, particularly at night like I did a few months ago and, I tell you, you'll think about it a long time. ...I don't think that I had any right to have the power that I had to choose who was going to Vietnam and who was not going to Vietnam. That's power. In some instances, when I looked at those names, I was maybe determining life or death and that's not a power that I want to have. ...'

"Barnes on his feelings of regret:

"'It would be very easy for me to sit here and tell you, Dan, that I had wrestled with this and lost a lot of sleep at night, but I wouldn't be telling you the truth. I...not eagerly, but readily, was willing to call and get those young men into the National Guard that were friends of mine and supporters of mine. ...Reflecting back, I'm very sorry about it, but you know, it happened and it was because of my ambition, my youth and my lack of understanding. But it happened and it's not...something I'm necessarily proud of.'"

The Kerry champagne has now found it's proper intensity, the (air quotes) Eye of the Tiger," if you will.