LOUISVILLE — The White House has rejected a congressional effort to clear the military record of the Kentuckian who was the top admiral at Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

        Andrew Card Jr., chief of staff to President Bush, has written to lawmakers that “there is no new or extraordinary evidence available” to restore Rear Adm. Husband Edward Kimmel and his Army counterpart at Pearl Harbor, Maj. Gen. Walter Short, to their highest World War II ranks.

        The letter was a disappointment to Ned Kimmel, 80, of Wilmington, Del., the admiral's last surviving son.

        “I'm sort of at the end of my rope on this,” Mr. Kimmel said.

        He and other family members — along with allies that include the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and the Veterans of Foreign Wars — have fought for years for vindication of the commanders.

        Rear Adm. Kimmel, raised in Henderson, Ky., and Maj. Gen. Short were the only officers not allowed to retire at their highest rank held during the war.

        Critics say the two officers were lax in making defense preparations and were inattentive to attack warnings. Supporters say they were scapegoats for U.S. intelligence errors and miscalculations in Washington.

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