When I think about it that way, it does make sense.
Posted on 11/27/2003 8:58:49 PM PST by ServesURight
Democrats Temper Praise for Bush Visit With Criticism By ADAM NAGOURNEY
With his Thanksgiving Day excursion to Baghdad, President Bush moved to regain control of an issue that Democrats have increasingly viewed as a political liability, reinforcing his commitment to the war while displaying solidarity with troops his rivals had accused him of neglecting, Democratic officials said yesterday.
The surprise visit stunned and confused his rivals, who struggled — in the midst of Thanksgiving dinner — to balance praise for the president's gesture with renewed criticism of his Iraq policy, which they said would be among his greatest vulnerabilities in next year's election.
"It's nice that he made it over there today, but this visit won't change the fact that those brave men and women should never have been fighting in Iraq in the first place," said Jay Carson, a spokesman for Howard Dean, one of the biggest critics of the war among the nine Democrats vying for the party's presidential nomination.
Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts issued a statement saying that the trip was "the right thing to do for our country." But, he added: "When Thanksgiving is over, I hope the president will take the time to correct his failed policy in Iraq that has placed our soldiers in a shooting gallery."
David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, described the visit as a "daring move and great politics," but added: "I think these kids need more. I'm sure they were buoyed by his coming, but they need more." The trip came at a time of rising criticism of the president for not attending the funerals of the returning war dead. It also came in the same week that Mr. Bush met with families of 26 soldiers killed in Iraq, and thus appeared to be a concerted effort by the White House to deal with a political problem.
And now, in a single day, Mr. Bush may have managed to supplant what has become the single most problematic image of him in this war: The picture of him swaggering across an aircraft carrier in front of banner reading "Mission Accomplished."
That image, which already has shown up in an advertisement by Mr. Kerry attacking the president, now seems likely to be overtaken by the picture of Mr. Bush, his eyes glistening with tears, addressing cheering troops on Thanksgiving Day. It was a moment fraught with imagery that was certainly a central subject of discussion at Thanksgiving tables.
Even aides to Democratic presidential candidates expressed grudging admiration for the political skills of this White House.
"Those guys can do some pretty smart stuff sometimes," a senior adviser to one of the Democrats said.
Matt Bennett, the communications director for Gen. Wesley K. Clark, said: "We're not going to throw stones at the guy for trying to do a nice thing for the troops. When the president goes and spends time with the troops, that's a good thing."
One of the most prominent Democrats in the field, Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, who helped write the Congressional resolution that led to the war, declined to comment on the trip.
In this context, the Democratic candidates sought to stand with Mr. Bush in his gesture of solidarity, while not letting go of the issue of how he has handled the war since the fall of Baghdad. Chris Lehane, an adviser to General Clark, praised Mr. Bush for the trip, but said, "He also has a responsibility to offer us a real success strategy in Iraq so we can get our troops out of there so they don't have to spend future Thanksgivings in Iraq."
Jano Cabrera, a spokesman for Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, said: "In fairness, visiting with the troops is exactly what a commander in chief should do. That said, we hope that he's also reassuring them that the administration will eventually have a plan to win the peace and bring our troops home soon."
Mr. Bennett expressed skepticism that yesterday's events would remove the issue of the war and Mr. Bush's handling of it from the table next year.
"They made their bed with that `Mission Accomplished' trip, and that's going to be around for a long time," he said. "That's not the last ad you will see with that. I will guarantee you that whoever the nominee is will have that image up."
Bush often speaks with parents of fallen soldiers.
Sniff sniff!
I heard a radio talker this morning on the subject (I forget his name-a holiday fill-in guy), but he pointed out that no recent president (except the camera hungry Clinton) did this. This was true throught WW-II, Korea, and Viet Nam.
When I think about it that way, it does make sense.
I believe Presidents don't attend the funerals of indivdual soldiers because they do not want to send the message that one life is more valuable than another. If he attended one, other families would wonder why he is not at theirs, aren't they good enough? Better not to attend any.
It's not for lack of caring, the DemonRATS who are whining and sniveling about this are just spouting yet another talking point. They know damn good and well why he is not attending funerals.
That is what I thought
Thank you for confirming this .. maybe we should email the media this .. they seems to have choosen to forget this information
The thing is .. I don't recall seeing on the news of Clinton ever attending a funeral of a fallen soldier
Most of those democrats you define are no longer welcome in the Democratic Party and have switched to Independent or Republican over the last twenty years.
But yes, there are still the Zell Miller's that will never stop calling themselves a Democrat even though they are not represented by their party.
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.