Bush and the guilded diaper....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/US_election_race/Story/0,2763,202917,00.htmlIn a written statement under oath presented on Monday, Ben Barnes, a former speaker of the Texas state legislature, said that in 1968 he asked the head of the Texan Air National Guard, General James Rose, to give the young Mr Bush a place on a pilot-training programme, automatically excusing him from the draft.
The draft has become a big issue in recent election campaigns. The former Republican vice-president Dan Quayle was accused of seeking refuge in the National Guard, and Bill Clinton was criticised for going to Britain. The issue is particularly dangerous for Mr Bush, as it focuses attention on his privileged past.
In his deposition, Mr Barnes said he had been asked to intervene by a Bush family friend, Sid Adger, but he did not know whether George Bush Sr, then a congressman, knew about the request. The former president said recently that he was "almost positive" that he had never discussed the matter with Adger, who died three years ago, and never asked for help. Rose died in 1993.
In the Austin court case, Lawrence Littwin, a former director of the Texas lottery, is claiming that, under George W Bush's governorship, the contract for operating the lottery was given to a corporation called Gtech, for whom Mr Barnes was a lobbyist, as a favour in return for Mr Barnes' silence on the governor's Vietnam record. Mr Littwin is suing Gtech for orchestrating his dismissal after he proposed that the $150m-a-year (£91m) lottery contract should be open to competitive bids.
His claims have been dismissed as baseless by Gtech, Mr Barnes and Mr Bush, who have pointed out that Mr Barnes left Gtech before Mr Littwin was hired by the state lottery. On Monday Mr Bush also denied that his family had been directly involved in pulling strings to get him in the National Guard.
"I don't know if Ben Barnes did or not, but he was not asked by me or my dad," he said. "I can just tell you, from my perspective, I never asked for, I don't believe I received special treatment."
But records published in the US press show that Mr Bush won a pilot's slot in the National Guard in front of thousands of others, despite scoring only 25% in his aptitude test: the lowest acceptable grade. He was sworn in on the day he applied.
In his statement, Mr Barnes said that one of Mr Bush's advisors, Dan Evans, came to see him last year to discuss the issue. Mr Bush later sent a note saying: "Thank you for your candour and for killing the rumour about you and dad ever discussing my status. Like you, he never remembered any conversation. I appreciate your help."
Mr Barnes initially resisted giving testimony, arguing that his former role as lieutenant governor gave him executive privilege. This argument was rejected by the judge.
