Barnes says he regrets getting Bush into Texas Air National Guard in 1968
By R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
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Former Democratic Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, in a video posted on the Internet, says he is ashamed that he got President Bush and other young men from important families into the Texas Air National Guard to avoid service in Vietnam.
Barnes, a supporter of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, in the past has not personally discussed his role in getting Bush into the Guard. He previously said in a statement that he recommended Bush for a pilot's position at the request of a Bush family friend.
Bush has denied entering the Guard in 1968 to avoid Vietnam service.
With controversy swirling around Kerry's service as a swift boat commander in Vietnam, Barnes' latest statements renew questions about Bush's military record but also about Barnes' motivation for telling his story.
"It is no surprise that a partisan Democrat is making these statements," said Bush spokeswoman Claire Buchan.
"This was addressed five years ago, and there's nothing new," she added.
The Barnes video was shot at a May 27 meeting of Kerry supporters in Austin.
"I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard when I was lieutenant governor of Texas, and I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I did it," Barnes said. Barnes actually was Texas House speaker when Bush entered the Guard.
Bush's father at the time was a congressman from Houston.
"I got a lot of other people in the National Guard because I thought that's what people should do when you're in office: You help a lot of rich people."
Barnes told the crowd he came to seriously regret his actions recently after visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and seeing the names of men and women who died in the Southeast Asian conflict.
r.g.ratcliffe@chron.com
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