The film starts with a brief pre-title clip from presenter Greg Palast s aborted interview with Florida Director of Elections Clayton Roberts , who walks out . Palast introduces George W. Bush with particular reference to his popular image as a war hero cemented in the public mind by his landing on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln for the 2003 Mission Accomplished Speech . However Palast alleges that Bush used his father s influence to gain a draft-dodging placement with the Texas Air National Guard Which he subsequently failed to serve . Palast picks up the story with Bush s 2000 US Presidential Election campaign where he claims Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris used their influence to purge and discount the ballots of predominantly Gore-supporting black voters through the fake felons list compiled by private company DBT/ChoicePoint for US$ 4 million . Palast goes on to examine the corporate donors to Bush s election campaign , such as Enron CEO Ken Lay , who as members of Bush s pioneer network contributed huge sums through family and friends , and who he claims subsequently profited from the Bush presidency with senior government appointments , no-bid contracts , executive orders and deregulation . Palast outlines what he refers to as the Bush-cycle , where Bush family members use money to gain political office and then use the office to gain even more money , dating back to Senator Prescott Bush who funded the family s entry into the oil business , citing the example of Bush s Harken Energy winning a contract to drill in the Persian Gulf thanks he alleges to Bush Snr s presidency . 
How was George W. Bush's war hero image used in his campaign?
By serving in the national guard