President Bush told veterans Tuesday he was proud of his time in the Texas Air National Guard and sought to deflect questions about his Vietnam-era service by turning the subject to what he said were rival John Kerry's equivocations on the war in Iraq. "What's critical is that the president of the United States speak clearly and consistently at this time of great threat in our world, and not change positions because of expediency or pressure," Bush told his applauding audience in a speech to the National Guard Association of the United States. [more ]