Bush comforts a school, but you’d never know it
Filed under: Bush Good, The Fourth Estate
Bush is an incredibly decent man under attack by insane savages, yet doing his best to live his Christian faith.
You didn’t see this on the news. You didn’t read about it in the paper.
It’s the wrong president, of course. Were this President Clinton - or any President with a D after his name, the breathless and moving coverage would have been wall-to-wall.
But this is only President Bush comforting the grieving students of a high school ravaged by a tornado…so do you didn’t read it anywhere. You didn’t see it on the news.
Read the story, check out the pictures. Reacquaint yourself with a president you are never allowed to see without heavy media anti-filter…because when you saw him unfiltered, you liked him too damn much.
The White House finds itself embroiled in yet another scandal, but this time they are on the right side of the outrage. On March 3, 2007 President George W. Bush visited the devastated community of Enterprise, Alabama, ravaged by a savage tornado that took the young lives of 8 high school students at Enterprise High School.
President Bush toured the area in Marine 1, viewing the remnents of a once peaceful Alabama town. Arriving at the High School at approximately 8:30, he walked the remains the High School with Principal Rick Ranier, stopping in Hallway 3, the site of the deaths of 8 young Enterprise High School students.
[…]
As he continued his tour of the school grounds he came upon a small group of students standing on an emblem on the floor that read, “EHS, Class of 1965?. Having been told he would meet this group from the student body, he asked, “Which one of you is the President?”
Megan Parks raised her hand slightly, then hung her head and began to cry. President Bush put his arms around Megan and Sarah Carroll and all three cried. A secret service officer standing nearby, although not able to hear every word, reported that he could hear the President quoting scripture and then he said, “It’s tough being President, isn’t it?”
As he began to walk towards Hillcrest Baptist Church he remarked, “Where are my children?” Lagging behind, they ran up to him, and walked the rest of the way to the church with him. The media was sent in different direction and were not allowed to accompany him to the church.
President Bush walked to the church where the families of the nine that died in this town were waiting. As he entered, his security detail remained at the door. A local police officer attached to the detail questioned the Secret Service agent he was partnered with about not going inside the church with the President. The agent remarked, “This is a far as we go, this is his time with his people.” The officer then questioned the presidents protection, if they remained outside the church. Again the agent remarked, “Yes, he is protected, but not by us.”
Inside the church, President Bush was again seen with tears streaming down his face as he spoke with the families that lost loved ones and grieved with them. He prayed with them and gave assurances that all that could be done, would be done, to help them get back on their feet. He told them that this would make them stronger, that losing a loved one has a way of doing that to people.
The President spent nearly two hours on the ground in Enterprise. Governor Riley is quoted as saying,
“When you’re around this game, you get to the point to where you can discern if the grief is real,” Riley said after Bush left Enterprise Regional Airport on his way to Americus, Ga., to tour more storm damage. “I tell you, there were tears streaming down his cheeks.”
Yes, well…he never did get the lip-bite right, President Bush. The press only covers presidential compassion when the president gets the lip-bite right.
I cannot imagine what it is like to be this man, to wake up every single day and deal with a seething, BDS-afflicted press out to take him down, and a “loyal opposition” bent on giving him as much hell as possible in a time of war.
He makes me nuts sometimes - I wish he’d fight back more - but I can understand why he won’t waste his energy on anklebiters and partisan snipers when he has troops in harms way, and people at home to keep safe. And he has kept us safe. And yes, I still pray for him, every day. Do you? Have you stopped? Maybe you should start again.
Meantime…I’d bet it’s safe to say that most Americans have forgotten this fellow, seen unfiltered, via the great DVD 9 Innings from Ground Zero:
Laura Lee has more at Wide Awake Cafe, and she links to a great column by Lorie Byrd who points out that Bush cannot get his message past the media blockade. He’s not the greatest communicator as it is, and they’ve effectively silenced him. Some president’s manage to talk beyond the media, directly to the American people, (I know some folks say Reagan could do it), but Bush doesn’t seem to have that gift.
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