The Nattering Nabob

I had forgotten about this, and atrios reminded me. Despite all the Sturm and Drang about where AWOL-boy was when he was supposed to be reporting for duty, there is no question that he flat lied about his service in his book. Conason:

"George W. Bush lied about his military service record. The lie can be found in his own 1999 campaign autobiography (as written by Karen Hughes), where he dramatically describes his experience as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. On page 34 of A Charge to Keep, Mr. Bush claims that, after learning to fly the F-102 fighter jet, he was turned down for Vietnam duty because "had not logged enough flight hours" to qualify for a combat assignment. Before going on to recall the "challenging moments" that involved close formation drills at night during poor weather, he adds: "I continued flying with my unit for the next several years."

Bush flew for another 22 months - not several years.