Posted on 12/13/2004 2:09:46 PM PST by GretchenM
Sunday the Bush's taped the 23rd annual Christmas in Washington concert at the National Building Museum. The concert will air on Wednesday, December 15 on Turner Network Television. Sunday evening the president (and presumably the first lady) hosted Rudy Giuliani (and presumably his wife) at a Christmas dinner at the White House.
Today, President Bush nominated former Utah governor and current EPA Administrator Michael O. Leavitt to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island.
Toaster?
Dose going up.
Please wait to post or repost photos till the All Clear.
Thanks!
Thanks! I have way too many toasters!
Super an early dose it gives me more opportunity to chat.
From left to right: Dr. Phil McGraw, Robin McGraw, Vanessa Williams, President Bush, Ruben Studdard, first lady Laura Bush, LeAnn Rimes, teenage singer 'JoJo' and Michael McDonald
How are you feeling today Gretchen did you contact your doctor?
Yahoo caption: "Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is interviewed in New York, in this April 13, 2004 file photo. Giuliani personally offered apologies to President Bush for the abortive nomination of close associate Bernard Kerik as homeland security secretary at a preplanned dinner at the White House, Sunday."
Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, right, presides over Ohio's delegation to the Electoral College during the voting ceremony at the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Monday, Dec. 13, 2004. The delegation chose President Bush as the election winner amid a challenge of the November results filed hours earlier and a recount to start this week. The 20 GOP electors voted unanimously for Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, following the same process Ohio electors have used for 200 years. 
I am doing much better today. Thanks for asking.
Leavitt sounds like a great pick for HHS.
I'll be watching TNT on Wednesday. Thanks for the alert.
Hi, snugs! I am making dinner and getting ready to decorate our cut tree. (The other trees are artificial and have been up for two weeks.) It is very cold here...already it has dropped to 27 F and it is snowing. (I live near Indianapolis, Indiana.)
Like the staircase what is the history of the building do you know?
I have cheated with the christmas tree this year mine is fibre optic LOL
Thanks for the early Dose! I love the pic of the Ohio Electoral College ceremony. Ohio really came through for us! Also enjoying the Roooooben pic with the Pres, and any picture of our President and his lovely Laura.
I received this in an Email from a good friend in California who loves the military and has contacts there. I can't verify it but it surely rings true to prior reports of this kind. And W certainly did look drained when he returned to the WH that evening, the way he does when he spends time with families who are suffering loss.
PRESUS [Bush] at Camp Pendleton
ps: With thanks to RADM Dick Van ORDEN for passing this along.
All Hands:
This is from Camp Pendleton, CA. It is from a Colonel that was there when Pres Bush visited the Marine Corps Base. This provides some insight into our Commander in Chief that was not reported, and evidently will not be reported.
Thanks Colonel and Semper Fi, Sir,
As an Operations and Training Officer, 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 one that will do the "right" thing, regardless of how tough it is.
Just thought you would like to hear a bit of the background.
Semper Fidelis, John
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2004 - The Commander in Chief traveled to Camp Pendleton, Calif., today the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force "for serving our country in a time when we need you."
President Bush praised the "Devil Dogs" for serving "with valor and integrity" in the war on terror, "from the caves and mountains of Afghanistan to the deserts and cities of Iraq." In recent days, Bush said the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force "has once again shown America's purpose and resolve," in Fallujah, Iraq, as they "took that city back from the terrorists and the insurgents."
"In the battle for Fallujah, the terrorists hid weapons in a cemetery, they hid ammunition in private homes, they hid bombs in mosques," the president told the cheering crowd of Marines and family members. "But they could not hide from the United States Marines."
Bush said the Marines' "courage, determination and devotion to duty" have made them "one of the most feared and respected fighting forces in the world" that has dealt "a severe blow" to the enemy. "And in these dangerous times when terrorists seek to harm our families and murder free citizens, Americans are thankful that the Marines are on the front line taking the fight to the enemy," he said.
Bush said there's no occasion like the holidays to express this appreciation to U.S. service members and their families. "In a time when Americans stop to count their blessings, I want you to know one of America's greatest blessings is the men and women who wear our nation's uniform," the president said.
He acknowledged that wartime demands sacrifices from military families as well as service members. "Being left behind when a loved one goes to war is one of the hardest jobs in the military, and it is especially hard during the holidays," Bush said.
The president thanked families at Camp Pendleton for enduring long separations caused by military deployments, and reminded them that "in carrying out these burdens, you also serve your country - and America is grateful for your service."
Bush said the United States also will remain steadfast in supporting men and women who have been injured in the line of duty. "And America will show that same sense of duty," he said. "We will provide the best possible medical care for every American service member wounded in action."
Similarly, Bush said the country will never forgot those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and will stand by their families. "Words can go only so far in capturing the grief and sense of loss for the families of those who have died," he said. "But you can know this: They gave their lives for a cause that is just, and . their sacrifice will have spared millions from lives of tyranny and sorrow."
The president assured the Camp Pendleton group that the coalition will persist in Iraq until it achieves victory. Important work remains ahead, he said, "Yet the outcome is assured."
Success in Iraq "will make America safer for us and for future generations," he said, and help prevent any future attack on U.S. soil.
"That's why we're on the offensive today in Fallujah and Mosul, Ramadi and North Babil," Bush said. "We're getting after the terrorists. We're disrupting their plans. We're holding state sponsors of terror equally responsible for terrorist acts. We're working to prevent outlaw regimes from gaining weapons of mass murder and providing them to terrorists."
And Bush said the effort will continue until the threat is removed. "We will stay at these efforts with patience and revolve," the president said. "And we will prevail."
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.