DEMOCRATS UNDONE BY "TOP GUN" BUSH

Tribune Media Services ^ | May 7, 2003 | Matthewt Miller

[Howlin]

Every so often you come across evidence that a political party is losing its mind. Something like that is happening to Democrats over President Bush's fabulous "top gun" photo-op aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. It's a case study in how Bush and Karl Rove have left so many Democrats undone.

Rep. Henry Waxman of California has asked the General Accounting Office to provide a full accounting of the landing's costs, since the event had "clear political overtones." Sen. Robert Byrd, who, as longtime appropriations czar, is in no position to throw stones over dubious uses of taxpayer money, lashed out at Bush instead for "flamboyant showmanship," saying the White House had no business using the carrier "as an advertising backdrop" for the president's speech. Democratic staffers are working overtime to gin up media interest in the "scandal."

Let's be clear. Yes, Bush manipulated the timing of the Iraqi showdown to suit his purposes in last year's midterm elections. And yes, he's now hoping to put America's military success to his political advantage. But for all that, Bush's decision to take out Saddam was the right thing to do. And as for the news that Bush is now trying to use the result to help himself - well, do we really have to trot out the old Casablanca line about being shocked to find there's gambling going on here?

For foes of Bush's domestic agenda, like myself, the worst part of these Democratic attacks is how ineffective and tone deaf they are. The party's most idiotic argument (it's hard to find a gentler word that's also accurate) is that in staging this event, Bush showed disrespect for the troops, because he delayed their return to their families by an extra day after a 10-month deployment.

Isn't it obvious even to Democrats that, if you took a vote of the sailors on board, they'd have unanimously hailed the idea of a visit from their commander in chief to deliver the thanks of a grateful nation? It's a moment they'll cherish for the rest of their lives and tell their grandchildren about. Democrats, inspired perhaps by the trial lawyers who bankroll the party, are acting as if these troops are good prospects for a class-action suit.

The cost was puny anyway. Early Democratic salvos complained that the photo-op cost at least $100,000, as if we should be outraged. Reality check, please. Fifty million dollars for Kenneth Starr's investigation was an outrage; $100,000 to land on deck and welcome troops returning from war is patriotic pageantry.

Earth to Democrats: There is nothing wrong with a little patriotic pageantry. And the costs of presidential movements are always extraordinary. When a president changes where he eats a meal one afternoon, taxpayers probably drop $100,000. You know what? We give the head of the free world a budget for that.

Democrats, of course, know this. Which helps explain why as I write this I've already received fresh e-mails from a Democratic press office raising the cost estimate for Top-Gun-Gate to $1 million. Bet they'll get it to $10 million before week's end.

I know, I know - this is politics. GOP operatives routinely toted up the cost of Bill Clinton's trips to New York City and the man-hours lost to Manhattan gridlock in the service of Hillary's ambition. The right wing never tires of trotting out the size and cost of Clinton's entourage when he traveled abroad. Both sides perennially engage in this irrelevant nitpicking - like so many other depressing aspects of public life, this seems to be a political law of nature.

But this latest episode shows how demoralizing life in the minority must be. Henry Waxman is admired even by Republicans for having done more over his career to extend health coverage to poor and near-poor Americans than perhaps anyone in the country.

Now look: Ten years after Newt Gingrich's earthquake, poor Henry is sniping guerrilla-style over political sideshows. How depressing must that be?

This is no time for Democrats to go bonkers over the small stuff. If this is what they consider smart politics, it'll be a long wait until 2008.

[texasbluebell]

How about the million dollar toilet made especially for Hillary....abandoned at the end of the trip..?

I seem to recall that that's what queens do. I'm sure I've read that the queens of England over the years have done the same thing. Seems like Victoria must have done so, and I'm sure I've seen that somewhere about the current queen. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so.

Guess we can't expect anything less for our hitlery, right? Nothing but the best.

[texasbluebell]

I remember there being talk of one trip that had something like 1800 people along for the boondoggle.

But I don't remember which one. Though I suspect it was that way for most if not all of the trips.

They lived it up in the grand style for 8 long (and for us miserable) years.

May they rot.

[Wake Up America]

I can't understand why it would cost a million bucks!

Was the thing made out of gold like Saddams?

[nopardons]

When I was a little girl, there was NO " pap ", NO " fluff ", NO PC garbage on the nightly news. They NEVER talked about which movie starts are dating/ marrying whom, fashion, " touchy-feely " stuff.

I gave up watching ABCNBCCBS years ago and I, a " news junkie ", was addicted to it. I switched to watching FNC and ONLY FNC, whilst I make dinner. :-)

[CyberAnt]

"clear political overtones"

According to the legal guy at FOX, Bush would need to promote someone who was running for office - Bush didn't. Or ... Bush would need to have his name on a ballot somewhere - Bush doesn't. Therefore, THIS WAS NOT POLITICAL.

[KellyAdmirer]

Did Henry Waxman get upset about taxpayer dollars funding political trips when Hillary Clinton was jetting around upstate New York for a year trolling for votes for Senator - when she wasn't even a resident of the state yet?

[texasbluebell]

I don't know, I never heard a dollar amount put to that.

But you can imagine with the accounting practices that seem to be prevalent in govt, when a hammer costs $765 or whatever--it's not surprising that they could milk us for whatever they can get.

No one seems to care, the money just keeps on flowing into their coffers.

Sorry, I'm pretty bitter about taxes. It's money very well-spent when our military is concerned, but this other stuff has got to stop.

[texasbluebell]

And I just read that hitlery made 66 trips to NY state during the campaign year, while she was first "lady"--there was not a peep that I heard anywhere about that, except a very small peep on Fox at that time.

[Wake Up America]

I remember when I viewed an interviewed on telivision
with Hillary.

She was asked "what was the first thing you and Bill did when you got in the White House?"

Hillary answered, "WE LAUGHED"!

How could someone that just won the Presidency of the United States [laugh] when they got into the white house for the first time?

It's perplexing to me.

[potlatch]

Let's ask Waxman to tally up the cost of ALL the trips that Bill, Hillary, Chelsea, and their entourage took - ALL over the world!!!

[John Lenin]

It is so obvious that Blozo Clinton is still running the demoRAT party. One thing the GOP learned during impeachment was that attacking a sitting president is unpopular.

[dixiechick2000]

LOL! Thanks for the ping!

Contrast President Bush's very warm and enthusiastic reception on the AH with the eye rolling by sailors who were ordered on deck when Clinton was on one of those carriers (I forgot which one).

A world of difference...

[AlaskaErik]

Doesn't the undistinguished Klansman from West Virginia have more important things to do like ironing his sheets, filibustering the President's judicial nominations and scrounging for more pork to send back to the home folks?

[Wake Up America]

I watch Fox almost all the time.

I listen to alot to talk radio while I am working in the daytime.

I wish OReily would let people talk on his show. He talks too much of the show, buts in too much. Not much manners.

[Cousin Eddie]

Frankly some democrats are falling into the same knee-jerk trap that many conservatives fell into regarding Clinton. Instead of letting some things go, every time Clinton did something even remotely questionable, people pounced on him. The political middle (who didn't have the rabid dislike for the man) eventually felt sorry for him and bought into Hillary's 'vast right wing conspiracy' jibe.

Anyone with any honesty would admit that the Lincoln speech had some political aspects to it along with Bush's heartfelt desire to thank the troops for the job well done...doesn't make it wrong, just a acknowledges reality. Let's face it, if Lieberman was president (I pick him because he's the only democrat that I could see going forward with this war) and he chose to land on the Lincoln on a jet and give that speech, we conservatives would be a bit miffed. But the democrats are stupid for attempting to make a federal case out of it. They're singing to the choir but alienating the political middle.

[texasbluebell]

Hillary answered, "WE LAUGHED"!

I remember that too. Sick.

How did we ever deserve to get those 2 for 8 miserable years?

That was a wake-up call to this country, but most people weren't getting the message.

And remember those horrible friends of theirs jumping on the bed in the Lincoln room?

[nopardons]

I gave up on O'Reily, long ago. He's a pompous, nasty little man and NO Conservative at all.

I listen to talk radio ( have done, for more than 30 years now. I started with Bob Grant. LOL) and watch most of FNC's programs. Life is good. :-)

[lorrainer]

Thanks AGAIN, Howlin.

Someone on Fox today said that the alphabet soup networks are shooting themselves in the foot again. At the beginning of every screed, they show the clip of the landing, which cancels out any bad things they have to say...

Who is more compelling--W's landing and reception, or the Mumbling Byrd trying to read his tirade? I report, you decide.

[dixiechick2000]

I was a little girl during those days, as well, and you are right. There were none of the tabloidesque news shows, including the morning shows, like we have today.

I gave up all network news programs, including the morning shows, during the 1992 campaign. They were so obvious in their preference for Clinton that I could barely keep a meal down.

[texasbluebell]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't detect much enthusiasm in such photos of xlinton talking to the troops. Here's one, in Hungary.

just the link because it's a big photo