A day in the life of President Bush (photos): 2/4/03

yahoo.com, whitehouse.gov, netscape.com

[rintense]

In a day filled with emotions, tributes, and tears, President Bush and First Lady Laura attended the memorial service for the astronauts whose lives were lost in the space shuttle Columbia tragedy on Saturday. The President spoke to the crowd of at least 10,000 teary eyed mourners, and eulogized the Columbia crew. In the closing moments of his speech, Bush spoke to the children of the crew by saying, 'And to the children who miss your Mom or Dad so much today, you need to know, they love you, and that love will always be with you. They were proud of you. And you can be proud of them for the rest of your life.' The First Couple returned to Washington this evening. Enjoy your daily dose of Dubya.

[baseballmom]

Thanks for the link. The wording on some of those questions doesn't give you much of a choice. Like - either we go "alone", without the UN or coalition (which isn't even true - I wish they would quit saying that), Or we only go with the UN and coaltion. No good wording IMHO.

There are also questions such as Will terrorism increase? How big a role does oil play, Will they hate us more, etc...

[ohioWfan]

WTG, WVNan's son!! Talent inherited from MOM, right?

[azGOPgal]

he was watching the missing asend into heaven

I knew that it was the missing man formation, but I didn't actually know where the "missing plane" flew to. So thank you for pointing that out. And I'm sure to see the symbolism of the plane asending to heaven is quite an emotional thing to experience.

[SwatTeam]

Thank you for this first picture. I haven't seen it until now although I had read about it in an earlier thread. It does express all our feelings and just seeing it here made me start crying all over again.

[SwatTeam]

What a great son you have. He is in my prayers along with all the other freeper friends and family. They all seem like family. God bless our military men and women.

[Bushfanatic]

Thanks rintense for the wonderrul pictures. Isn't Pres. Bush wonderful? I felt so sorry for him, he looked like he was going to break down crying. Did you notice that Laura was crying? I also felt sorry for the family members. It broke my heart seeing them cry. I loved it how Ilan Roman's son was comforting his grandpa.

[admiralsn]

I read that the little boy wiped hos nose and handed the handkerchief back to the President. And, of course, he took it back.

[Brasil]

Thank you for today's beautiful dose.

A photo frequently posted here shows President Bush at the Pentagon Memorial Service. This is what David Frum wrote in The Right Man about that moment.

"Those who saw that speech ...remember the expression on his face as he waited...As he stood on the grandstand, clutching another of those forlorn little American flags in his hand, he looked so overwhelmed by sadness that I wondered if he would be able to speak at all. He looked like an eleven-year-old boy who had promised himself that he would not cry. He pulled his lips into his mouth in the hope that nobody could see them tremble. He blinked his eyes rapidly. He fixed his gaze upon a point somewhere over and above the sobbing families in front of him lest he see something that might wreck his self-control..." Today's program reminded me of that day.

[SuziQ]

It makes you wonder, how much more can a man take? They say that God doesn't give you more than you are able to handle

That makes me think of a quote from Mother Theresa. She said once that God does not give us more than He thinks we can handle, but she said sometimes she wished God didn't trust her so much!

[Mo1]

I just received this in an email from my Liberal Dad In-law


Subject: A Soldier's President. . . .
A Soldier's President. . . .

Whether you actually like George W. or not....the following provides some interesting thoughts and insights to his beliefs.

First, an observation. Have you noticed a difference in the salute given by our military men and women as President Bush walks by? Most folks would not notice anything, but those of us who have served in the military see it right away.

Next time, watch: When President Bush leaves his helicopter or Air Force One, the honor guards salute and face him as he disembarks, then turn their faces towards him as he passes by. They continue to salute his back as he
walks away. This kind of salute has not been seen in the previous eight years, though it is customary courtesy to the Commander-in-Chief.

You see, soldiers aren't required to turn and face the President as they salute. They are not required to salute his back. They are only required to salute. They can remain face-forward the entire time. And that is what
they did during the previous administration. Our soldiers were forced to obey his orders, but they were not forced to respect him. From their salutes, we can surmise that they did not.

Why is such respect afforded to President Bush? He doesn't even know how to bite his lower lip and not get teary-eyed whenever he speaks!

The following incident from Major General Van Antwerp may give us an insight. Gen. Antwerp is president of the Officers' Christian Fellowship. He lost nearly all his staff when the Pentagon was attacked Sept. 11. His
executive officer LTC Brian Birdwell was badly burned and in the hospital when President Bush visited him. Our President spent time and prayed with Brian. As he was getting ready to leave, he went to the foot of Brian's
bed and saluted. He held his salute until Brian was able to raise his burned and bandaged arm, ever so slowly,in return. The Commander-in-Chief almost never initiates a salute, except in the case of a Congressional Medal of
Honor winner. The injured soldier did not have to return the salute. But he did, out of respect to his President ...a Soldiers' President.

Congressman JC Watts (R. Oklahoma) said, "Character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking." (my favorite quote of all time). The nation and world learned some of what our last President did when nobody was
looking. That President has been disbarred, the worst disgrace (other than imprisonment) to a lawyer. CNN will have a difficult time shining his or his wife's tarnished images.

In this time of war and danger, I am so grateful to have a President whom the soldiers salute --fully. On "Special Report with Brit Hume," at the close of the show when they normally have some funny video clip, they showed President Bush and the First Lady on their way to Maine to leave
for Camp David for the weekend. As the video starts, the First Lady is leading the way into the helicopter with the spaniel dog on the leash, and the president is right behind her with the Scotty on the leash. As the First
Lady entered the chopper, the Marine at the gangway saluted and held his salute. The Scottie the president was walking decided it wanted to sit right when he got to the steps. The president pulled on its leash, but the stubborn Scottie persisted in sitting. The president bent down and
scooped up the pooch and entered Marine One. After he entered, the Marine cut his salute and returned to the position of attention. Moments later the President reemerged from the helicopter and out onto the steps. The
Marine was standing at attention, head and eyes straight ahead. The President leaned over and tapped him on the left arm. The startled Marine turned his body toward the President and received his returned salute!

I was so impressed by this true act of respect for our military people by our President! He really does get it. Most any other person of his stature would have just continued his journey, disregarding the neglected return
salute. Not George W. Bush. He is earning the respect of the military community, not expecting it -- as most have and would.

President George W. Bush. The man whose happy-go-lucky lifestyle led him to mediocre grades in college and an ill-fated oil venture, who mangled syntax, and whose speaking mis-steps became known as "Bushisms." He came within a hair's breadth of losing the election in November. Bush named Jesus Christ as Lord of his life on public TV. Not an oblique reference to being "born-again" or having a "life change." He actually said the un-PC-like
phrase, "Jesus Christ!"

On September 11, he was thrust into a position only known by the likes of Roosevelt, Churchill, Lincoln, and Washington. The weight of the world was on his shoulders, and the responsibility of a generation was on his soul.
So President George W. Bush walked to his seat at the front of the National Cathedral just three days after two of the most impressive symbols of American capitalism and prosperity virtually evaporated. When the history of this time is written, it will be acknowledged by friend and foe alike that President George W. Bush came of age in that cathedral and lifted a nation off its knees. In what was one of the most impressive exhibitions of self-control in presidential history, President George W. Bush was able
to deliver his remarks without losing his resolve, focus, or confidence. God's hand, which guided him through that sliver-thin election, now rested fully on him. As he walked back to his seat, the camera angle was appropriate.
He was virtually alone in the scene, alone in that massive place with God, just him and the Lord.

Back at his seat, George H. Bush reached over and took his son's hand. In that gesture his father seemed to say, "I wish I could do this for you, son, but I can't. You have to do this on your own." President George W. Bush squeezed back and gave him a look of peace that said, "I don't have
to do it alone, Dad. I've got Help". What a blessing to have a professing Christian as President.

Please take a moment after you read this to "pray for him". He truly does have the weight of the world on his shoulders. Pray that God will sustain him and give him wisdom and discernment in his decisions. Pray for his
protection and that of his family. And after you have prayed, send this to people on your e-mail list. Our President needs Christians, Democrats and Republicans alike, to be praying for him. As this makes the e-mail
rounds, eventually there could literally be millions of people praying for him, and for our Great Country....

[rintense]

I thought it was 10am... any word for sure?

[JusPasenThru]

What a wonderful group! Who has more good will and old-fashioned class, GWB or FReepers? God bless you all. Rest well.

[Mo1]

I heard 9 central coverage begins

OK .. that should be 10 eastern time .. Thanks!

[freepersup]

What an experience for your son and his school to participate in. Great news- tell it sister !

We (volunteers in mission) go down to Bell county Kentucky each year and perform rehabilitation on substandard homes. We get entertained by bluegrass artists and tune in to the local sound on the radio. It is set up as a retreat / work camp and works well (both ways). I have picked up the WV public radio program Mountain Stage, on my car radio on some Saturday nights.

[WVNan]

Haha...nope. He gets the music from his Dad. Creativity from me perhaps. Of course, all those hundreds of times I dragged him to violin lessons from age 3 might have helped. You guys stumbled over spikes and sneakers. I stumbled over guitars, fiddles and drums.

[Mo1]

I thought it was 10am... any word for sure?

Maybe we should ask Howlin .. and whether there we be live thread also ..

This time I am taking the phones off the hook, I am not going to miss this speech

[reDublican]

Fellow Dosers,

I picked up a copy of Time magazine today (I know, I know: part of the Axis of Bias. I guess I took a few too many Tylenol this morning and it affected my judgment)

Anyway...

I'm flipping through the issue and---lo and behold---about halfway into it is a bunch of exclusive photographs of the president and his cabinet.

If you're a Bush photo afficionado (and if you're on this thread, you probably are), I highly recommend checking out these photos. There are just a few of the president, but they are absolutely stunning!

One is a two page spread of the cabinet at the table praying before the beginning of their meeting on the morning of the State of the Union address. While everyone else has their head bowed down and hands folded together, resting on the table, the president has his elbows on the table with his face buried in his hands...it was so telling it made me want to cry!

Then there's another photo taken in the capitol building just after the SOTU address and he's hugging Laura and his sister, Doro! You can really tell he adores Doro...it's a real 'big brother' kind of hug, if you know what I mean.

Check them out. You'll like them.

[speekinout]

That picture is so great! There were times during this ceremony when W looked like he was ready to cry. But in this pic, he is giving reassurance to one of the children.

What a man.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Please tell your brother thank you for serving this country, and that he will be in our prayers, OK?

And welcome to the Dose!

[SuziQ]

it would be a whole lot worse if hhe didn't have God's peace within him.

We saw living proof of that with x42, didn't we?