THE President speaks to Marines at Camp Lejeune, NC (LIVE THREAD)

Foxnews

[JohnHuang2]

Bush: "We will prevail."

[JohnHuang2]

Bush: "Our Armed services have performed brilliantly in Operation Iraqi Freedom."

[Howlin]

Late live thread ping!

[JohnHuang2]

Bush: "The course is set, we are on the advance, our destination is Baghdad and we will accept nothing less than complete and final Victory! May God bless our country and all who defend her. Semper Fi!"

[Inspectorette]

SEMPER FI!!!!!

[lsee]

May God bless our country and all who defend her...Semper Fi!

That's how he ended his speech!

[Fred Mertz]

I watched it all. Bush gave an A+ rousing and inspiring speech.

Semper Fi

[7thson]

Man, that is one bada** photo! Was this digitally remastered? It gives me chills just looking at it! This does remind of something from the old west. This is George Bush and the leaders of his gang! And to back him up, he has the Marines, Navy, Army, Air Force, and these branches special forces!

[katana]

Their predecessors weren't fit to pick up the towels.

[Mr. Thorne]

You got a bigger version of that photo somewhere?

Gotta get me one of those...

[ohioWfan]

OH, what a fantastic, moving, inspiring speech!!!

GOD BLESS this wonderful LEADER!!

Now we need to pray hard for him......what he is going to do in the next hours as he meets with the families of the fallen Marines will be heart wrenching!

[Savage Beast]

Message to the sick, self-destructive, hate-filled, anti-American form of decadence known by the misnomer "Liberalism":DROP DEAD!Oops! I think you just did!

[Timesink]

I notice that the President has about as much Secret Service detail around him as he would at any public speech. I find that a bit odd at Camp Lejune surrounded by thousands of hardcore jarheads. Of course, even they can't stop the occasional loser from falling through the cracks, but I'm curious: Anyone here with military experience know if those men and women in the audience were armed? Or would that have been as much of a no-no for them as it would for a public crowd? Would the majority of them even be carrying anything during a "normal day" at Camp Lejune?

[lsee]

The most striking thing I'm noticing about Bush mingling with the crowd is the physical WALL of bodyguards right at his back, closely examining each person who is shaking hands with the President...he had like five guys right next to him practically moving in tandem with him as he shook hands, none of them glancing away for a second from those closest to him in the crowds...

If you ever saw Spy Kids 2 where the "president's daughter" attempted to dance in the middle of a large group of synchronized bodyguards who moved whenever she did, it's a little like that. In times of war, I'm grateful to see that care is being taken to prevent anything from happening to him. Especially in light of the recent murderous behavior of that Muslim soldier.

[ohioWfan]

Semper Fi!

God bless our brave and strong Marines and their Commander in Chief, whom they respect and admire!

(And God bless the Army, too!)

[LS]

Can ANYONE seriously visualize Clinton saying "Semper Fi!" with any credibility (let alone a straight face?)

[Guenevere]

God bless him.....It was wonderful!

[faithincowboys]

I love Dubya but he should have taken a page out of Rep. Heather Wilson's book. Her stirring speech last night on the floor of the house left me in tears. She is evidently a Free Republic fan, she mentioned Martin Savidge's "Where do they find men like this?" dispatch from Iraq. Wilson did a phenomenal job. Dubya needed to be as evocative as Wilson. Her speech last night raised the bar for all elected leaders.

Good, but he must bring greater emotion to a forum like this. In many ways, this was just adequate. Many in that room will be put in harm's way, and many others have loved ones who are already deployed and fighting and dying. It was vital for Dubya to knock it out of the park--I don't think he did. Did Karen Hughes write this speech? Whoever did failed Dubya today. It is important for a speechwriter to be up to the task. Peggy Noonan would have crafted a gem for her President. He needs to clean house at the speech writing corp.

I love Dubya, but this wasn't up to snuff. In addition, he should have introduced the North Carolina Senators individually. Chances are, Sen. Barbie Edwards would have gotten a lukewarm reception. Introducing them at the same time inhibited such an expression.

Go ahead, Flame my way!

[OldFriend]

America's secret weapon! A commander in chief who is loved, honored and respected by the best trained military force in the world.

[doug from upland]

Q First, sir, a message from the crew that just recently returned from the USS Enterprise. My son-in-law was aboard that. From the last man and woman on that crew, they are honored to call you their Commander in Chief. (Applause.)
(DFU to Pres. Bush...Jan 5, 2002...Ontario, CA)

This is a real commander in chief. What the troops had to endure for 8 long years was Nightmare on Elm Street.