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I just came back from the Alexandria International Airport, here in central Louisiana. It was a thrill just to see the huge Air Force One waiting for the President to arrive from Fort Polk. No one was allowed to go to the Base which is about 55 miles away. When I entered the road leading to the airport, many of the entrances were blocked with sheriff's vehicles. I wound my way around the old England Air Force base that had closed during the CLinton Admin. When I came close to a fenced off area there was a crowd of about 100 people. There were a number of secret service persons there, keeping the "crowd" away from the fenced in area. NO one was allowed to go anywhere near the fence, which was about 50 feet away from where the crowd had gathered. I had my two grandsons with me. We waited and watched as Marine One approached the runway. Some were able to see the president as he boarded Air FOrce One. They said he turned around and waved to the crowd, the rest of us were just hoping for some sign that the President knew we were there. If you all could have seen this harmless little crowd, made up of young mothers, their children, a few white males and a handful of black couples, all waiting in anticipation for our wonderful President. Even though we did not get close, it is an experience that I will always remember. I pray everyday for our president's safety. Seeing the way the sheriffs and secret service were contorlling this very family type crowd, you can imagine what they need to do in large cities.

By the way, our local NBC station reporters attended the event at Fort Polk and actually carried it all live from the time he entered the event, until it was over which included him picking up at least 12 babies and young children. there was one really cute little boy about 4 years old, dressed in fatigues holding a flag. The president gave hime a bid hug, before handing him back to his father.

By the way, the crowd was huge, the local reporter, reported that there were between 10,000 to 15,000 military, famailies retired veterans and federal employees in attendance. I bet you won't hear that reported either. The young reported when asked to give a feel for the crowd stated, "The crowd was really enthusiastic, it just makes you proud to be an American when you see all of these young people so overjoyed to see their Commander in Chief>"

I wish I could have gotten pictures, but we were never close enough.

"The crowd was really enthusiastic, it just makes you proud to be an American when you see all of these young people so overjoyed to see their Commander in Chief>"

Just think what the country would be like if President Bush got just a fair shake, not even the spin in his favor that X42 got. The evening radio ABC news mentioned his trip to the base. I guess they couldn't find a 5 second sound bite without cheering voices in the background so they skipped that part.

I think that President Bush spent 2 whole years on active duty, longer than most draftees. The Rats want people to think that he did almost nothing, practically never even showed up for drills. The Alabama time was when the war was winding down.