Bush's Fairy God Mother...

I don'’t really care how Bush got into the Texas Air National Guard to avoid going to ‘Nam. What piques my interest is why he felt he could disobey a direct order to report for a Flight Physical and stop flying. Why he felt he could negotiate with his commanders over how and where he could perform his service.

Apart from being from a well connected political family, what set him apart from other pilots in training is when President Richard M. Nixon sent a jet for the young Bush so he could go on a date with his daughter Tricia. Not a ticket for a plane, nor a bus ticket, but a rather expensive official jet to fly him 750 miles to Washington*. Ah, the perks of an imperial President, the Commander in Chief during war time, bestowed upon a suitor - all before he even got his wings. I don'’t think Nixon ever did this for any other military man...Let alone for Tricia!

Now that kind of protection does not make the official military record. It just tags along in an unofficial manner...

In a way Nixon, much like a Mafia Don, extended his protection to this favored son as in he should be treated as family. This was well before Watergate, but even then Nixon had already developed his reputation as a mean S.O.B.

After Bush’'s posting to Houston, I can imagine him being approached at the officer’'s club and asked, “"Scuttlebutt says you’'re dicking Dick"'s daughter,"” and the intrepid officer/gentleman, with a wink and a smirk saying, “"If I told you I'd have to kill you.”"

It kind of gives new meaning to Killian'’s statement, “"He'’s talking to someone upstairs."



*From the Moody flight training facility to DC is 750 miles. I assume they flew him back. What I’'d like to know is did the jet originate from and return to DC? That'’d be 3,000 miles for a Bush/Nixon attempted pairing of reptilian genes...