President Bush's Guard controversy still front and center

A CBS news report that suggested President Bush did not fulfill his military commitment 30 years ago fell under a growing cloud of skepticism Friday. But Democrats insisted that they have plenty of evidence to continue their campaign to show that Bush got breaks that other young men did not get during the Vietnam War.

The controversy over the television report forced CBS Evening News' Dan Rather to issue an unusually long and detailed response Friday evening. The veteran anchor said that the network stood by its original report: that Bush received favored treatment to win a coveted spot in the Texas Air National Guard and then failed to meet performance standards once he was admitted.

But it appeared the network could do little to quell a controversy that was first ignited by its Wednesday-night program "60 Minutes II." Several experts questioned the authenticity of critical memos purportedly written by Bush's one-time squadron commander in 1972 and 1973.

A retired Guard major general -- who Rather said in an interview would corroborate the CBS account -- instead told the Los Angeles Times that he believed the memos from Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian were not real.

And a document expert who bolstered the network's story while on the air conceded Friday evening that he had authenticated only one of the four controversial memos.

A CBS news executive said that Maj. Gen. Bobby W. Hodges, who was Killian's immediate supervisor, had changed his story. And a network producer said that at least two other experts had authenticated all four memos.

Democrats said the furor over the documents and the news program merely distracted from the larger issue.

They noted that the White House and Pentagon had still not produced documents proving that Bush reported for duty when he was transferred in mid-1972 to an Air National Guard unit in Alabama. And they reiterated previous allegations that Bush hopped over hundreds of other applicants on a waiting list for the guard slot, which virtually assured he would not be sent to combat in Vietnam.

Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry remained on the sidelines of the issue.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Friday that the latest memos dealing with Bush's military service had surfaced as part of "an orchestrated effort by Democrats and the Kerry campaign to tear down the president."

On Monday, the newly formed "Texans for Truth," a liberal advocacy group, plans to begin airing an ad in five closely fought states -- Oregon, Arizona Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania -- that features a retired member of the Alabama Air National Guard saying he never saw Bush appear for training in 1972.

In just three days this week, the group said it had raised more than $400,000 from 5,000 contributors to air the ad.

The group says many of its donors believed the Bush critique is justified after Republicans backed similar ads that said Kerry did not deserve some of the medals he won while in combat in Vietnam.

To keep the issue alive, the group said it would announce a "substantial" reward on Tuesday to anyone who can offer proof that Bush fulfilled his service in the Alabama Air National Guard.