WTF Is It Now?!?

Bush, not Kerry, should face scrutiny

[I]t's truly astonishing that the candidate in the hot seat is the one who actually went to Vietnam and was injured in the line of duty, rather than the one who used family connections to do his service at home and then didn't bother to show up for duty.

As for Bush's war record: The main elements were uncovered four years ago in an investigative report by the Boston Globe entitled "One Year Gap in Bush's National Guard Duty."

They revolve around Bush's apparent absence for long periods of time from his pilot's job in the Air National Guard - a cushy, non-combat position he secured with the help of his father's connections.

This raises the question of whether Bush was AWOL or even, if his absence from duty was long enough, whether he should have been considered an army deserter - a crime which, in times of war, can be subject to punishment, including death, with no statute of limitations.

Yet the media focus has remained tightly on Kerry's war record.

What would we do without the vigilance of the free press?

- Linda McQuaig of the Toronto Star. Indeed.