Posted on 08/24/2005 10:26:54 AM PDT by Sam Hill
Surely you remember the media furor that occurred after the parents of a Medal Of Honor soldier blamed Bill Clinton for his death? I don't either.
In reality, the reports about this were few and far between. One of the rare accounts came from a foreign newspaper, the London Sunday Times:
May 29, 1994Dead Hero's Father Tears into Clinton
It was the moment President Bill Clinton wanted to restore his tattered reputation with the military before his departure for the D-Day celebrations in Europe this week, James Adams reports.
He had just presented posthumous Congressional Medals of Honour, America's highest military decoration, to the widows of two soldiers for valour in Somalia. After inviting the families for a moment of quiet reflection in the Oval Office, the president approached Herbert Shughart, the father of one of the two soldiers, and offered his hand.
To his astonishment the handshake was declined. ''You are not fit to be president of the United States,'' said Shughart Senior. ''The blame for my son's death rests with the White House and with you. You are not fit to command.''
The president reeled and the unprecedented onslaught continued for some minutes. According to witnesses it was a ''highly charged emotional moment'' which resulted in Clinton trying to explain to Shughart,Sr. why the events of that day last October were not his fault.
Shughart and his colleague, both sergeants, were killed trying to rescue fellow rangers from a vicious fire-fight in which 18 died and 75 were wounded. A later Pentagon investigation revealed that the troops had been refused the right equipment and there was no political or military plan to justify the Americ an presence in Somalia. Although the president has tried to escape the blame, he is largely credited with the failure of the whole American effort to bring peace to Somalia. According to witnesses to the Oval Office scene, the Shughart family remained unconvinced by the president's arguments.
''The medal doesn't help anything, other than that we are grateful that Randy will be remembered in such an honourable way,'' said Lois Shughart, the soldier's mother.
This incident is also recounted in Lt. Col. Tom McKenney's book, The Clinton Chronicles:
Eventually, after Clinton had sat on the paper work for eight weeks, two of the slain soldiers, Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randall Shughart, were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. As usual in such cases, the medals were presented to the next of kin.
Following the May 23 presentation at the White House, the families of the two men were invited into the Oval Office for a private visit with Clinton. Inside the office, the father of Sergeant Shughart refused to shake Clinton's hand, then look him in the face and calmly told him that he was responsible for his son's death, that it was for no purpose, that he was not fit to be President, and not fit to be Commander in Chief.
Clinton was visibly shocked, amazed, and momentarily speechless. It is revealing that he was surprised that the man should feel that way. Clinton really doesn't think the way most people do, seeming to lack a sense of personal responsibility. After a brief, awkward silence, Clinton caught his breath. Becoming angry, he turned to the mother of the dead soldier and said, "What's he jumping on me for? I didn't kill the kid!"
The Shugharts should feel lucky, I guess. At least Clinton didn't have them arrested or sic the IRS on them, as he did with his others who refused to shake his hand, such as Patricia and Glenn Mendoza.
The media ignored that meeting and what happen
Remember .. the internet wasn't that big back then and the media was able to hide many stories back then
I remember those dark days.............
As much as I try .. I just can't remember the press getting on his case for taking vacation time
I bet Kathleen Willey could answer that.
I'm sure he would have picked me instead of Lewinsky, but she thought she was doing far more for more ,to take down our country, than I was. After all, "This country is not worth defending". You should give Bill and Hillary what they want - A socialist nation. Boo Hoo, you all are so mean to me!
/Sarcasm off
For Clinton, every day is a vacation day.
Cindy, "I feel your pain" in dishonoring your son. I wish I had known you better than Monica. Here, have a cigar.
/Sarcasm off
Cindy's strange but Bill would feel her pain.
What Would Clinton Do? -- About Cindy
No offense intended,but who the hell cares?
Bill is always willing to cop a feel.
"No offense intended,but who the hell cares?"
It's meant to point up the relentless bias of the mainstream media.
I believe that's one of the things this site is about.
1. Tears for the TV audience.
2. Tax payer funded "extreme makeover" for Cindy.
3. Buy box of cigars (another one)
4. Buy new blue dress - Cindy's size.
5. Invite Cindy to "private" quarters for a chat.
6. Then....lie to wife, lie to friends, lie to Grand Jury, lie to Congress, lie to "the American people", ....
7. Then run for re-election.
Agree but...clintin takes the prize for number one worst president in our history.
"I loved President Clinton and the just wars he sponsored."
"No offense intended,but who the hell cares?"
We all do... In case you didn't get it, or haven't yet noticed, the MSM (that's "Main Stream Media" to you) is disgustingly and undeniably slanted in its reporting. The coverage of Sheehan, who is funded and aligned with groups from the extreme left, is borderline ridiculous in its mountain-out-of-molehill making. It is also a slap in the face to the overwhelming majority of military parents who support their children and their children's choice to serve.
They would be a perfect pair. ;)
Remember when our esteemed 42nd president joked about getting a date with a mummified South American female mummy?
I don't discount anything from the Clintoon.
What would Bubba have done about Cindy?.........Hmmm....Probably the same thing he did after the black hawk down incident and the Cole incident when we lost soldiers........Go on tv...say ''I feel your pain''.....and then go on his merry way raping as many women as he could find!!!
I never knew this--very enlightening.
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.