Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

BATTLE BORN BATTLEGROUND: Key players to visit state

All four on major presidential tickets coming this week

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy appears Monday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post on Las Vegas Boulevard. Kennedy, who became the highest-ranking woman in the Army in 1997, criticized President Bush, saying he failed to fulfill his duty in the Texas Air National Guard. Photo by RONDA CHURCHILL/REVIEW-JOURNAL

For the first time in Nevada history, all four candidates on the Republican and Democratic presidential tickets will campaign here in the same week, placing an additional spotlight on the Battle Born state as a battleground.

President Bush is expected to speak today to the National Guard Association of the United States; Democratic challenger John Kerry and Vice President Dick Cheney have events scheduled for Thursday; and Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards spoke at a rally last night in Reno.

"It's never happened before, never even come close," said state archivist Guy Rocha. "It's just testament to the fact that Nevada is a significant battleground state for these two campaigns."

One issue expected to dominate this week in Nevada is National Guard service, with both Bush and Kerry expected to speak to more than 3,000 officers gathered for the Guard association's 126th conference, which is being held this year in Las Vegas.

It is a fitting place for the convention, as Nevada has the highest percentage of activated National Guard members in the country. At times this year, nearly 60 percent of the Nevada Guard was serving overseas.

Both campaigns will work this week to make political gains on National Guard service.

Democrats plan to unleash multiple attacks on Bush's military record as a result of documents that appear to call into question elements of the president's service in the Texas Air National Guard.

CBS News reported last week that Bush ignored a direct order from a superior officer and lost his status as a Guard pilot because he failed to meet performance standards and undergo a required physical exam. The authenticity of the documents has been questioned by the family of the late officer who reportedly wrote them, document experts, including one quoted by CBS News, and media outlets such as The Washington Post that have begun their own investigations.

Also, CBS News has interviewed officials who said strings were pulled to get Bush into the Guard. The White House has called the allegations last-minute politics and a recycling of baseless charges.

In Las Vegas, the attack began Monday as retired Army Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy said Bush failed to fulfill his duty in the Guard.

"Bush lied when he told us, in the Oval Office, that he had completed his service," Kennedy said at a news conference at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Kennedy, who became the highest-ranking woman in the Army in 1997 when she became a three-star general, credited Kerry for joining the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.

"It's time for George Bush to come clean about his military service in his youthful days in a time when he had so many other priorities, some of which he's not even able to remember," Kennedy said.

The Democratic National Committee will launch a new ad today in Nevada and other battleground states, focusing on Guard service. The 30-second spot says Republicans have failed to equip troops and are to blame for involuntary extensions of duty.

Jano Cabrera, communications director for the DNC, said Bush's Guard service is not an old issue.

"We think it's an issue that goes to the president's credibility today," Cabrera said in a telephone interview. "Bush repeatedly, including this year, said he received no special treatment. George W. Bush lied about his service and did so repeatedly to the American people."

The Democrats' attacks on Bush's service record come weeks after the independent group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth hammered Kerry for his actions during and after his tour of duty in Vietnam.

Just before Bush is scheduled to arrive in Las Vegas today, a group called Military Families Speak Out will hold a news conference with the families of seven Guardsmen killed, injured or called up for additional deployment in Iraq. None of the families is from Nevada.

Democrats will also take to the streets in protest outside the Las Vegas Convention Center on Paradise Road, where the Guard association is holding its event.

Bush-Cheney regional spokesman Tracey Schmitt said Bush's military record will "absolutely not" have an impact in the race.

"President Bush served honorably in the National Guard. Democrats continue to offer nothing more than sleazy attacks," Schmitt said.

In his speech, Bush will highlight the important role the Guard plays in the war on terror, and the difference between Bush and Kerry on that issue, Schmitt said.

The appearances by Bush and Kerry mark the second time this year both presidential candidates are in Nevada during the same week.

Kerry was in Southern Nevada from Aug. 9 to 11 and Bush gave a speech in Las Vegas during a two-hour visit Aug. 12.

This week's visits mark the fourth trip for Kerry to Nevada this year and the third trip by Bush. Cheney will be making his sixth trip to Nevada this year on Thursday, speaking at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. Edwards made his Nevada debut as part of the Kerry-Edwards ticket Monday.