LOL, kendall, being AWOL's a serious charge and there's no statute of limitations. Maybe those folks pining for the return of Ken Starr have a point after all. Heaven forbid that time Bush spent on authorized detached duty be considered anything but dereliction of duty.

And there is a difference between the two young men. One abandoned his country and the other served. Don't forget that the National Guard were eventually called up on active duty and Bush had to know that was possible. My oldest brother went from being a Naval Reservist to being a medic with the Marines during some of the more exciting times in and around Da Nang. It was all a matter of timing and the luck of the draw.

Like me turning 18 and getting 326 in the 1973 draft lottery when the war was so nearly over. I remember it vividly. They didn't take anyone that year. By 1972 when Bush supposedly abandoned the National Guard, the war was nearly over for the US. The public had turned completely against it and US was withdrawing forces. The National Guard was hardly at its highest state of alert. I'm not surprised they found they could let him go for a while.