Why I Should Be Kerry's Campaign Manager There is a great scence in the movie Mississippi Burning where William Dafoe confronts Gene Hackman about "going into the gutter" in his attempt to crack the KKK in Mississippi. Hackman angrily responds, "These people are crawling out of the fu**ing sewer! Maybe the gutter is just where we should be!". This election isn't between Democrats and Republicans. It's neocons vs. the rest of us. I have a pair of steel-toed boots. Let me show ya'll how it's done. First, let's look at a classic example of White House circumlocution: We know this. This fact is irrefutable, and even Bush will not deny it. Bush refused to take a National Guard physical. The Texas Air National Guard stripped Bush of his pilot status in August 1972 for failing to take the annual medical exam required of all pilots. Former Air National Guard officials say it was rare for a pilot to skip his physical exam. In response to questioning, the White House responded with the following: Earlier Wednesday, the White House said Bush never was disciplined while serving in the Texas Air National Guard, never failed a physical and never asked his father or family friends for help to get him into the Guard. ...See how they've changed the issue? They've strongly denied what was never an issue. You can't fail a test you never take. But the point is, that's not the question which was asked. How We Can Control The Issue: George Bush didn't refuse to take the Texas National Guard Physical because he had an embarassing rash, a third nipple, or protruding horns. Many strongly suspect that he didn't take the physical because he was on drugs, and in 1972 the National Guard instituted a drug test. Air Force Regulation 160-23, also known as the Medical Service Drug Abuse Testing Program, comes in. The new drug-testing effort was officially launched by the Air Force on April 21, 1972, following a Jan. 11, 1972, directive issued by the Department of Defense. We can control the issue by changing the issue, just like the White House did in the example above. Instead of asking "Why didn't he take his physical?" we should be stating unequivocally: "President Bush was kicked off active duty flight status because he refused to take a drug test". Millions of Americans have been forced by their employers to pee into a cup. They know what would happen to them if they refused a drug test. Refusing a physical, on the other hand, lacks the same cultural resonance. Both statements are factually accurate; both aren't effective use of language. Seattle Post Intelligencier Article