New Bush Military Record Released

The White House late Wednesday released a copy of a dental evaluation President Bush had in the National Guard in Alabama during the Vietnam War to rebut suggestions from Democrats who have questioned whether the president ever showed up for duty there.

A copy of the dental examination performed Jan. 6, 1973, documents the president serving at Dannelly Air National Guard Base in Alabama, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in a statement.

Bush completed most of his National Guard duty in Texas, but in 1972 was allowed to leave and perform his duties in Alabama so he could work on a Senate political campaign.

The White House obtained the dental record, along with other medical documents it did not release, from the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver, McClellan said.

The record was accompanied by a statement from Dr. Richard J. Tubb, the president’s current physician, who said he read Bush’s records, which covered a period from 1968 to 1973, and agreed with the doctors’ assertions that Bush had been fit for service.

McClellan said renewed requests for additional records show that some people “are more interested in trolling for trash for political gain” with the presidential election nine months away. “This is nothing but gutter politics.”

Bush said in a television interview last weekend that he would be willing to open his entire military file and would “absolutely” be willing to authorize the release of anything that would put the matter to rest.