Bingo. I mentioned in response to your excellent posts of this past Friday that I think the reason I get emotional about this President (unlike any President in the past) comes from the shattered emotions for me watching my fellow countrymen get incinerated in those four airliners and in the buildings where they exploded, seeing others plummet to their deaths, and watching the collapse of the WTC live and knowing that brave men and women in emergency response were being pulverized to dust under the weight of those buildings. My emotions have been frayed since that day. President Bush, as you have said, has consistently expressed the anger, determination, desire for justice, unwillingness to pursue foreign policy in a "business as usual manner," and the sorrow that most of us have felt. GW Bush is more than simply a President and wise leader -- he's a decent human being who thinks, and feels, like a decent human being.
When I read some of the hardened hatred that some on these boards have for this President (which goes beyond simple disagreement with policies), I have to wonder...are they also decent human beings? I've come to the conclusion that some are not. I await evidence to the contrary.
I don't recall who first said it, but someone very perceptively said that the real dividing line in politics today is those who still live in a pre-9/11 world vs. those who live in a post-9/11 world. I just hope with all my heart that there are enough post-9/11 folks out there to re-elect President Bush. Otherwise we are all going to be in a world of hurt.
Heck, many of the haters who claim to be on the Right politically don't even know what they're talking about. For example, while it's true that the Medicare bill included the prescripton drugs provision, it also included some very conservative ideas: Medical savings accounts, the ability for seniors to choose from different plans other than traditional Medicare, and so on. This is true of a number of the initiatives the complainers cite in their mantras. This is why I think many, if not most of the ones we're encountering lately on FR (if not Dem disrupters in "disguise") are the perpetually angry types who voted for Perot, Buchanan, Keyes, etc., throughout the 1990's.
Anyway, I've copied Southack's list to Word and have begun organizing it. I'm also going to do some research on WhiteHouse.gov to see if I can add some more items. Might take me a couple of days, but I'll email it to you ASAP.
When I read some of the hardened hatred that some on these boards have for this President (which goes beyond simple disagreement with policies), I have to wonder...are they also decent human beings? I've come to the conclusion that some are not. I await evidence to the contrary.
Double Bingo.
I lost 17 people from my home town in the WTC towers, and 9 very close friends in the Pentagon.
When I saw the President stride out to the mound, I was slightly overwhelmed, having returned a short while before from yet another funeral at Arlington Cemetery for a friend who was killed in the Pentagon. It is impossible to remain dry-eyed through the folding of the flag, that is, IF you've made it past the casson part!!
When I saw the President stride to the mound, I was so overwhelmed that he would do such a thing - go out into the middle of 55,000 people to throw out the first ball. I knew this was supposed to be symbolic, but I did NOT want to be going to Arlington Cemetery for the funeral of another President in my lifetime. I have never prayed so hard, wanted to close my eyes as much as I did, yet stared, transfixed, as he threw the ball, and the crowd burst into the most rousing cheer I've ever heard.
I sat with tears of relief streaming down my face - for the strike, for the fact that my President was still alive, and for the stance that he took. He was saying, "Here ya go, terrorists. We are NOT afraid to go out and enjoy OUR sport."
I grew up at the ballparks of NY - an avid Dodger fan, my Dad took us to Giant games, Dodger games, Yankee games. Any game was good if it was in NY! When they built Shea Stadium for the Mets, I started going there with friends - following in a tradition my Dad had started. In fact, I took a guy from Iowa who had just returned from 'Nam to one of the Mets championship games, and had the thrill of watching them win. A farm boy from Des Moines, he nevertheless knew how to work the parking lot, to get tickets from a scalper so we could get in. How does a farm hick learn such things in the muck of 'Nam?
Anyway, it meant so much to me that the President took the stand he did. He was saying in a way that I could understand and believe, "See? When I say we can go on with our lives, I mean it. We can't let the terrorists win, and stop participating in American life."
It was more than a symbolic, empty gesture. He understood everything there is to understand about American life.
He never ceases to amaze me.