Bush Fires Toughest Salvo on Clinton’s Draft Record : Campaign: He accuses Democrat of not having ‘told full truth,’ implies opponent views military as ‘immoral.’
NEW YORK — In his toughest, most direct attack yet on Bill Clinton’s draft record, President Bush said Monday that his Democratic opponent “has not told the full truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth†about how he avoided military service. And, questioning Clinton’s view of the military, Bush said: “The commander in chief shouldn’t have a mind-set that says the military is immoral.â€
But even as the President sharpened his criticism of Clinton, White House officials were unable to point to any specific evidence suggesting that Clinton viewed the military as immoral--a word Bush used twice in seeking to associate his opponent with that view--and the Clinton campaign said: “Once again, the President has got his facts wrong.â€
Several hours after Bush spoke, deputy White House press secretary Judy Smith acknowledged that “the word immoral is not†in a letter Clinton wrote in 1969, to which Bush referred. But, she said, “the tone is there.â€
She said Bush would “absolutely not†retract his criticism.
The President developed the point in an interview conducted by conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Bush took part in the nationally syndicated radio show, during which he took no calls from listeners, after addressing the United Nations General Assembly, where he called for a steeply enhanced role for the U.N. in peacekeeping, international economic matters and efforts to control nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
The President used the draft issue aggressively, moving well beyond the gentle approach he used last Tuesday in a speech to the National Guard Assn. The sudden change in tactics reflects both a sense that with six weeks to go until the election he needs more firepower, and the hope that Bush campaigners’ initial attacks on Clinton had made an impact and that it was time for the President himself to forcefully join the fray.
At least one poll taken since the Bush campaign began focusing on the draft issue has shown a slight tightening in the race. But another one showed Clinton widening his lead.
For the last several weeks, the Bush and Clinton camps have been fencing over the central issues involved in Clinton’s avoidance of military service: his efforts to avoid the draft itself, and whether, in his explanations of what occurred 23 years ago, he has told the complete story.
The issues in the election, Bush said Monday, go beyond the economy to get to this central question: “Who do you trust to be President of the United States of America? . . . I will be asking the American people, when they go to the voting booths, to look at the whole record and say, who do you trust with this tremendous responsibility?
“I have a very different concept of public service. I have a different concept of military service, and I’m sure I would never call the military immoral,†Bush said. “But I think the major point that differs--where we have differences now--relates to the total failure to come clean with the American people on this very difficult question.â€
The President said: “I’m not trying to make a big deal out of it,†then proceeded to slam away at every question.
“I think that Gov. Clinton ought to level with what happened on this and then elaborate on the letter that he wrote where he condemned the whole military as immoral and said that the only danger, only time he could see fighting, would be if there was immediate danger. I think it was, I’ve got to paraphrase here, immediate danger to the shores of the United States,†Bush said.
The President was referring to a letter Clinton wrote on Dec. 3, 1969, thanking Col. Eugene Holmes, commander of the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Arkansas, for “saving me from the draft.â€
In that letter, Clinton wrote that from his work on the anti-Vietnam War Moratorium, “I came to believe that the draft system itself is illegitimate.
“The draft was justified in World War II because the life of the people collectively was at stake. Individuals had to fight, if the nation was to survive, for the lives of their countrymen and their way of life. Vietnam is no such case.
“You have been good to me and have a right to know what I think and feel. I am writing too in the hope that my telling this one story will help you to understand more clearly how so many fine people have come to find themselves still loving their country but loathing the military, to which you and other good men have devoted years, lifetimes, of the best service you could give. To many of us it is no longer clear what is service and what is disservice. . . .â€
Earlier in the letter, he said: “I decided to accept the draft in spite of my beliefs for one reason: to maintain my political viability within the system.†Clinton’s letter, in which he backed out of his ROTC commitment, was dated days after the draft lottery numbers were drawn. Clinton drew a high number and was never called. But he says he actually withdrew from ROTC months before the numbers were drawn by asking his stepfather to tell officials he would not join the group.
Responding to Bush’s allegations, Max Parker, a Clinton campaign deputy press secretary, said the President has “taken things the governor has said out of context. This is another attempt by the Republicans to detract from the real issues of the campaign.â€
Asked about the charge that Clinton called the military “immoral,†she said: “The governor has never said that.â€
“You have the President of the United States making up quotes and attributing them to the governor. That goes directly to character,†she said.
Bush is likely to raise the draft issue frequently in coming weeks, and his campaign is debating “when and how†to use it in television and radio advertising, a Bush campaign aide said.
“Clearly this is an issue that works, and does raise questions and concerns about Bill Clinton’s character,†the campaign official said. “It is one we plan to pursue.â€
It is felt, in particular, that it will be useful in the South and Southwest--regions in which Bush had no trouble overtaking Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis in 1988, but in which he is struggling against Clinton this year. Reflecting the troubles Bush is encountering even in these bases of conservative support, he is returning for a long day of airport rallies in six states today, planning the sort of hectic fly-about more commonly reserved for the closing days of a campaign.
In his attack, Bush said: “The fundamental difficulty is that he has not told the full truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. And I think therein the American people are entitled to an explanation.
“Some say, ‘Well, foreign policy and military policy doesn’t matter.’ †But, Bush added: “There’s still wolves in the woods, may not be a Soviet bear . . . and someday the commander in chief might have to make a very difficult decision.â€
Bush sought to play down the endorsement of Clinton on Saturday by retired Adm. William J. Crowe, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He said that Crowe opposed the Gulf War and testified before Congress against Bush’s plans.
The effect of the draft issue on the race remains uncertain.
A poll conducted by The Tarrance Group from Sept. 14 to 17 found support for Clinton dropping slightly, from 51% at the beginning of the survey to 48% by the end, while support for Bush climbed from 39% to 41%. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus three percentage points. But a Washington Post/ABC News poll released Monday found Clinton widening his lead. That survey, taken Sept. 16-20, showed Clinton with 58% to Bush’s 37%; it had a margin of error of plus or minus four points. Last week, the Post/ABC poll showed Clinton with a 15-point lead.
In his radio interview, the President refused to back off his opposition to the one-moderator debate format proposed by the bipartisan debate commission and accepted by Clinton, rather than the format involving three questioners and a moderator, used in the past.
“I want to debate on the terms that have been approved since 1976. Every election has had debates based on a formula, and he wants me to change,†Bush said.
“I’m not going to let this new man dictate the terms.
Times staff writer Douglas Jehl in Washington contributed to this story.
Today on the Trail . . .
Gov. Bill Clinton campaigns in East Lansing, Mich.
President Bush campaigns in Springfield, Mo.; Tulsa, Okla.; Longview, Tex.; Shreveport, La.; Greenville, Miss.; and Memphis, Tenn.
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