J$P Instant Transcript! Colonel John "Bill" Calhoun Updated!: Compare how the "researchers" for Outfoxed report this interview with what was actually said.

From Hannity and Colmes, September 6, 2004:

MIKE GALLAGHER: You know, when reports first surfaced back in 2000 that there were allegations that President Bush skipped his National Guard duty, you became angry. I'm really intrigued by the way that all unfolded in 2000. Can you kind of go back over that for us and talk about what happened when you first heard about those reports?

LT COL JOHN "BILL" CALHOUN: Yes I can. I was in Arkansas on business, and I was in a hotel room, watching tv, and Ollie North's program was on. And he mentioned that a Colonel Turnipseed had said George W Bush had never showed up for his drills in Montgomery.

GALLAGHER: Right.

CALHOUN: And I just sat up in the bed and I said, that's not true. He did, he showed up. And I was real upset about it and I got on the phone that night and I called the Presidential Campaign headquarters in Austin, Texas, I didn't know the number or anything, I just called information and got it. I talked to someone there and they said, Bill, we know it's not true, and we know it's not an issue, and we think it will go away.

GALLAGHER: And yet you kept pushing forward, and I'm really interested in this, because if there was coverup on the part of Team Bush, certainly they would have embraced you and they really would have tried to prop you up, and they really didn't, did they?

CALHOUN: I never heard from anyone again, ever. In fact, when this came up again, I said, well, they probably wrote it down somewhere, my name, and they'd give me a call. I never heard from them when this came up again. And I was prodded mostly by my family and friends that knew me back then and knew I had mentioned it. And for years, I wasn't really sure which Bush was there, because I didn't know the Bush family at all, and I couldn't...you know, thirty years is hard to remember. I didn't know, but I knew it was the one that was a fighter pilot.

GALLAGHER: Right, and that was him. Now, you know, you pick up the New York Times today, you know, they seem to suggest that there isn't a single living soul who can come forward and on the record say I know that I served with President Bush in Alabama. Does that frustrate you?

CALHOUN: It does, but you know, the more you watch the news today, the more you understand how this stuff gets out. I did serve with George Bush, in fact, the guy that broke the story, the Colonel, Turnipseed, has since recanted and said he really doesn't remember, and made the statement, if Bill says it was true, it was. He's done that publicly, but they forget about that. But, the thing is, he was brought to my office and told to sign in for his drills there.

GALLAGHER: And you specifically remember him signing in in your office, right?

CALHOUN: Yes, and he was there from May until about October. I remember May or June, but like I said it's very hard to remember that far back.

ALAN COLMES: Col Calhoun, it's Alan Colmes.

CALHOUN: Yes sir, how are you?

COLMES: Thank you for doing our show tonight. Mr Turnipseed lately has said that he may be suffering from Alzheimer's and doesn't remember. Earlier though, a few years back, he said he didn't remember George W Bush. And according to the Associated Press story, 12 other people say they don't remember George W Bush being with the 187th. So why do you think that many people would say they don't remember him?

CALHOUN: Well since then, there've been five or six that have come forward and did see him. I would give more credence to the people that saw him than the people that said they didn't see him, because the base, there's a thousand people on the base on drill weekend. And during that time there are a lot of new faces in and out of the guard. And it's quite possible that these guys did not see him. I can't speak for them really.

COLMES: Also, pay stubs only have him paid for some months, not all of them, so they're not all accounted for. Also, the Associated Press did a Freedom of Information Act request for information, and they said there are five kinds of files missing. Is that just a coincidence, that there'd be all of these files missing having to do with President Bush's service?

CALHOUN: Not really. I would say they're probably missing from a lot of people's files, records. We didn't have computers back then; we were using punch cards and that type thing. They signed in on a piece of paper. This piece of paper was on my desk, it had his name, and he'd sign by it to show he was there. At the end of drill I would turn that piece of paper in.

COLMES: The last time you saw him was 1972, you claim, but there's some questions about where he was also into 1973, when he was still supposed to be on duty.

CALHOUN: I have no idea. I've read the reports that he had a dental appointment there in '73, but I remember him coming in right in October, and I remember this because I was aware of him working in the campaign. And he said the election was in November which was before our next drill. And he said I won't be back.

COLMES: One other thing the Associated Press reported, and I'll put it up on the screen:

A May 1973 yearly evaluation from Bush's Texas unit gives the future President no ratings and stated Bush had not been seen at the Texas base since April 1972. In a directive from June 29, 1973, an Air Force personnel official pressed Bush's unit for information about his Alabama service... Then Maj Rufus G Martin replied Nov 12, 1973: "Not rated for the period 1 May 72 through 30 April 1973. Report for this period not available for administrative reasons."

Again missing records. It seems remarkable that they wouldn't have any record of this?

CALHOUN: Let me explain that to you.

COLMES: Please do.

CALHOUN: When you rate someone, and someone works for you, you give them an efficiency rating. It's just like anyone in any job, the guy that you work for writes down what you do. In the military, when you aren't available for whatever reasons, and this was administrative, because he had taken leave to go to Alabama, approved by his Commandder obviously, to make his drills with us, the guy he worked for directly in Houston didn't see him all this time. So all he can do is on his rating, is say, not available, or I don't know.
[interview concludes]

Update: The so-called newshounds (another fine product from the Outfoxed syndicate) were up in arms about this interview. But in their usual fashion, they found that to make their points, they had to take a few, um, liberties with what was actually said. The pups often lie by putting quotation marks around statements that are not verbatim (breaking a cardinal rule of journalism). In this case, every quote in the newspoodles article is re-written, inaccurate, and phony! Two examples of cur calumny:

Calhoun seemed a bit confused and rambled on," For years I didn't know which Bush they were talking about. But then I heard it was the fighter pilot...."
CALHOUN: And for years, I wasn't really sure which Bush was there, because I didn't know the Bush family at all, and I couldn't...you know, thirty years is hard to remember. I didn't know, but I knew it was the one that was a fighter pilot.

However, he couldn't say a word about any date beyond November and never said that he saw him after the sign in May/June 1972.
CALHOUN: I remember him coming in right in October, and I remember this because I was aware of him working in the campaign. And he said the election was in November which was before our next drill. And he said I won't be back.

We're not sure about hound calendars, but most human calendars place October 1972 "after May/June 1972".