On the one hand, I totaly agree with Hitch: "The military and its relatives have no extra claim on the chief executive's ear."
....on the other hand, though, here's a picture of Bush driving right past her on his way to a party for donors who've given at least $25,000 to the RNC.
As DU puts it "...there you have it. Want some accountability from the president of the United States? Dubya won't give you the time of day. Donated $25,000 to the Republican party? Step right up and shake hands with Our Great Leader! That, right there, pretty much sums up the "morals and values" of today's Republican party and the Bush administration."
Still Hitch (again) is not wrong when he says, "Any citizen has the right to petition the president for redress of grievance, or for that matter to insult him to his face. But the potential number of such people is very large, and you don't have the right to cut in line by having so much free time that you can set up camp near his drive."
However, it's hard to support Bush after he delivered this, the least compasionate statement in the history of the presidency:
Whether it be here or in Washington or anywhere else, there's somebody who has got something to say to the president, that's part of the job. And I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say. But I think it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life. Americans, Bush said, want their president in shape and "in a position to make good, crisp decisions.*"
So what is a well-meaning liberal, with cruel yet handsome eyes, supposed to think? Especially now that a stout-Republican loser like David Duke has misconstrued Cindy Sheehan amaturish take on the causes of terrorism, leading everyone to think that Cindy is not just anti-American, but anti-Israel to boot?
Should I side with Cindy, and agree that our President is an insenstive, mean-spirited lout? Or should I concede that even insensitive, mean-spirited louts need time to exercise and go to parties?
It's very confusing.
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** IOW (1): "It's my job to be as comfortable and well-rested as I possibly can." \
IOW (2): "I'm going to go on with my life, and do some biking, while the guys who got killed because I lied about the war eat dirt. So Nyah." (One can only imagine the howls of outrage if Clinton has said something like this. )
IOW (3): Brush-clearing and bike-riding is the president's idea of having a "balanced life."