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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cirrus who wrote (1083)	1/4/2005 1:07:23 PM
From: Andrew N. Cothran	Respond to of 224713

"Grandstanding, he might say. . .! And Bush studiously avoids the politician's usual bad habit of grandstanding at every opportunity and creating the opportunity when it is not manufactured by events.

To: cirrus who wrote (1083)	1/4/2005 3:07:26 PM
From: Andrew N. Cothran	Respond to of 224713

The President That You Never Hear About Below is a link to one of many stories about the President's recent visit to Camp Pendleton on Tuesday to speak to the Marines and their families. San Diego Union Tribune In all of the stories about the President's visit, there are many soundbites and a lot of quotes of the President praising Marines for a job well done in Iraq. But what you may not know from the MSM (main stream media) is that he was at Camp Pendleton for another reason. Some of the articles touch briefly on that reason, but they don't (or won't) do it justice. This is from a Marine Colonel at Pendleton who writes of the President's visit: .....we had the lead for the POTUS visit and I was privileged to spend much of the day with him. Let me tell you something that was, very deliberately, not in the news. President Bush came here for two reasons. To thank the Marines and sailors of Camp Pendleton for all they do, and to meet with the families of our fallen warriors. The first part was public. The second - and I believe far more important - was to meet privately with 170 family members who had lost a loved one. He forbade the press corps from viewing or photographing any of it. The Plt Sgt Mitchell Paige Fieldhouse (a brand new $12.5m facility) has two basketball courts. One was curtained off and decks covered where he met with them together. Then, he met with the family members of each fallen Marine in the other gym individually. Having had the duty of a Casualty Assistance and Notification Officer many times in the past, I know how emotionally draining it is to talk to even one family at a time. When we put the President back on Marine One some three hours later, he was as somber and drained as I've ever seen him. It took an emotional toll on everyone involved. Obviously, he did not have to make this visit. He could have delegated that task to anyone to do it for him. I have great respect for ones that will do the "right" thing, regardless of how tough it is. Just thought you would like to hear a bit of the background. December 9, 2004

To: cirrus who wrote (1083)	1/4/2005 4:08:58 PM
From: jlallen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224713

Sorry....there was no "slow response".....its simply an inaccurate statement....

To: cirrus who wrote (1083)	1/5/2005 9:41:51 AM
From: Zakrosian	Respond to of 224713

Letters of condolence? I don't think you grasp why it was so important for the President to make a timely, personal, public statement. You're right - I don't understand why it was more important to make a public statement than it was to offer private condolences while immediately beginning aid efforts. It may have helped Bush's short term popularity but do you really think it would have mattered at all to the victims? It seems the only folks who noticed or cared were the president's critics and nothing will satisfy them. I'm willing to bet that a year from now, the US will once again have been the most generous donor, will have provided the most logistical support, and will still be criticized for not doing enough. At any rate, here are comments from the Thai ambassador: In an interview, Thai Ambassador Kasit Piromya went out of his way to say that his government was "very happy with the assistance extended so far" and to disagree with critics who have said that American personnel were slow to mobilize. "Your personnel was already in place from the very first day," he said. I'm also open to the idea that the US was initially too stingy in our aid efforts, but the argument might be a bit more persuasive if those making it would point out how generous countries like Canada, Norway and France were in their immediate contributions to the relief efforts last summer after the devastating hurricanes in Florida. On an earlier topic, I'll add to the list of Bush failings: -The steel tariffs; -Continuing to increase federal spending on public schools (though at least there has been an effort to demand accountability).