Country over Party………..Country over Self

The following is from an email which was sent to an email list today: (posted by kitkat, 5/27/03)

At a recent Soldiers Breakfast held at Redstone Arsenal, AL, Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) Jack Tilley shared the following story.

He -(SMA Jack Tilley)- described a recent visit to our wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington that I (Chaplain Henderson) will never forget. "The Special Forces soldier had lost his right hand and had suffered severe wounds of his face and side of his body.

As SMA Tilley described, how do you honor such a soldier, showing respect without offending? What can you say or do in such a situation that will encourage and uplift? How do you shake the right hand of a soldier who just lost his?

Finally he told how he acted as though the man had a hand, taking his wrist as though it were his hand and speaking encouragement to him.

But he said there was another man in that group of visitors who had even brought his wife with him to visit the wounded who knew exactly what to do.

This man reverently took this soldier's stump of a hand in both of his hands, bowed at the bedside and prayed for him.

When he stood from praying he bent over and kissed the man on the head and told him he loved him.

What a powerful expression of love for one of our wounded heroes! And what a beautiful Christ-like example!

What kind of man would kneel in such humility and submission to the Living God of the Bible?

It was George W. Bush, President of the United States and Commander in Chief of our Armed forces, a true leader.

What a story! What a revelation of the character of the man who leads this country and its Armed Forces!

But, you know……this is not an isolated incident. There are scores of others who could tell similar tales of events occurring behind closed doors…..away from the camera lens, and the media reporter…….stories told by relatives of the victims and heroes of 9/11, or the families of those brave heroes who have been killed in the defense of our freedom and safety......stories that tell of the depth of character of our President.

It wasn’t long ago in this country that we were being told that the character of the man leading this country didn’t matter……that a lack of character wouldn’t affect his job performance. Those of us who share Conservative values knew how wrong that was, and how dangerous that kind of thinking would be for this great nation, and we saw it nearly destroy what we hold dear.

Now we have a President whose character and honor are unassailable, whose love for his country, his wife and family, and his fellowman are obvious in everything he does. Sometimes that love for others drives him to policies which many Conservatives find distasteful……the education bill, the farm bill, his faith-based initiative……even his ‘new tone in Washington.’ But does any honest person think for a minute that his motivation is anything other than his own character and values, and his interpretation of what is the right thing to do……..whether we agree with his conclusions or not?

In the past few days, the level of hateful rhetoric against George W. Bush has been raised to a fevered pitch that is, in my view, dangerous. It has gone beyond discussions of policy differences, to venomous attacks not only on his policies and decisions, but on the one thing that cannot be denied……his character.

There are numerous cries of, “I won’t vote for him in 2004 because…..” But I would like to ask each person who has typed those words to step back, calm down, and take another look.

What will be best for this country……which, I assume we all love……in the 2004 election?
Will it be best for America if you ‘teach George W. Bush a lesson’ by voting for an obscure third party candidate, or worse yet…..staying home?
Will it be best for America if there are enough of you who do that, as there were in 1992, to make the better man lose?
Will it be best for America if we end up with Gebphart, Kerry, Lieberman or Edwards as our President?
Will it be best for members of our military to vote out their beloved and strong Commander in Chief, and replace him with someone who cares for and respects them far less…….or not at all?
Will it be best for our safety and security to have any of the Democrat candidates at the helm in 2005 and beyond?
Will it be best for anything in this country, if a Democrat President is the consequence we all have to endure as a result of your present rage?

There are those among you who don’t like this President who are Christians. I would ask you, in particular to devote a greater amount of time to pray for our President and our nation…..to pray that he can discern what is God’s will, above and beyond any of our political ideology. This President’s first impulse, as revealed in this very poignant story, is to kneel and pray. If you are a Christian, ask that God’s truth for what is best for this country is shown to him……especially if you believe he has not stood firmly enough in the pro-life camp, or against the enemies of Israel, or against homosexuality, or illegal immigration, or any other issue that is important to you.

Above all, I would ask that all of us would put country over party, and country over self, and for the next 18 months on this forum, while engaging in a civil debate over issues that are important to us as Conservatives, while e-mailing, calling and writing to the White House about issues that are important to us, especially if we disagree, and truly evaluate what outcome of the 2004 election will make America a greater, more moral, freer place than it is today...... and then to work together to reach that goal. The alternative is unthinkable.

“It is not just an office. It is A Charge to Keep, and I will give it my all.” - George W. Bush

great story.

Here is a recent email I sent to W.

Dear President Bush, With the Surpeme Court session getting ready to close, it may well be time for perhaps the most important domestic decision of your presidency: the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice(s). The main reason why I supported you in 2000 and why I wanted Daschle out of power in 02 (and 04) has to do with the courts. I want America courts to interpret law, not write law. During your presidential campaign you said Thomas and Scalia were your two model justices. Those are excellent models. The High Court needs more like them. Clarence Thomas recently said to students that the tough cases were when what he wanted to do was different from what the law said. And he goes by the law. This should be a model philosophy for our justices. Your father, President Bush lost his reelection campaign for 3 main reasosn, as far as I can see. 1. he broke the no new taxes pledge 2. David Souter 3. Clinton convinced people we were in a Bush recession (which we had already come out of by the time Clinton was getting sworn in)

I urge you to learn from all three of these: 1. on taxes, you're doing great. Awesome job on the tax cut. 2. good job so far on judicial appointments. I want to see more of a fight for Estrada, Owen, and Pickering, but I commend you on your nominations. 3. by staying engaged in the economic debate you'll serve yourself well

I have been thoroughly impressed with your handling of al Queida, Iraq, and terrorism. You have inspired confidence and have shown great leadership.

But I want to remind you that your Supreme Court pick(s) will be with us LONG after you have departed office. I urge you to avoid the tempation to find a "compromise" pick. Go for a Scalia or Thomas. Don't go for an O'Connor or Kennedy. To be specific, get someone who is pro-life. Roe v Wade is one of the worst court decisions I know of, and it's the perfect example of unrestrained judicial power.

I know the temptation will be tremendous on you to nominate a moderate. But remember who your true supporters are. I am not a important leader or politician. I am "simply" a citizen who has been an enthusiatic supporter of you. I am willing to accept compromise in many areas of government but I will watch your Court nomiantions extremely closely. What the Senate Dems are doing right now is disgusting, but as the President you have the bully pulpit to stop it. Democrats will back down if you turn up serious heat on them.

Moreover, I think public opinion is shifting towards the pro-life position. Dems will want you to nominate a moderate, but almost all will vote against you anyways. Pro-choice Repubs will likely still vote for you if you nominate a Scalia, after all, you campaigned on it. So Mr. President, I urge you to stick with your campaign statements and nominate justices who believe in judicial restraint, like Scalia and Thomas.

Happy Memorial Day and may God bless you and your family.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.