President Bush's father says it's "a total lie" to say he used his influence to keep his son out of the Vietnam War.

Mr. Bush served stateside in the Texas Air National Guard during the
war, while Democratic rival John Kerry commanded a Swift boat and
was wounded three times.

In an interview on CBS's "The Early Show," the president's
father dismissed claims that he helped his son stay out of the war.

Former President Bush says there is no evidence, yet people "keep
saying that."

The statement comes just days after Former Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes said he is “more ashamed of myself that I’ve ever been” for helping President Bush and the sons of other wealthy families get into the Texas National Guard to avoid service in Vietnam.

"I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard ... and I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I did it," Barnes, a Democrat, said in a video clip recorded May 27 before a group of John Kerry supporters in Austin.

In the clip, Barnes says, "I became more ashamed of myself than I've ever been because it was the worst thing I did — help a lot of wealthy supporters and a lot of people who had family names of importance get in the National Guard. I’m very sorry of that and I'm very ashamed of it and I apologize to the voters of Texas for that."

The video was posted on the Web in June, but didn’t draw much attention until Friday when author and former Texas statehouse reporter Jim Moore sent out e-mails calling attention to the statement, just days before the start of the GOP National Convention.

White House Spokesman Scott McClellan dismissed Barnes’s claim on Saturday.

"It is not surprising coming from a longtime partisan Democrat. The allegation was discredited by the commanding officer. This was fully covered and addressed five years ago. It is nothing new."

Click Here For Barnes Statement Web Site