Free Republic

BOSTON -- It has become known as one of the most effective TV presidential campaign commercials ever: President Bush consoling a 9-year-old Ohio girl named Ashley whose mother died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mr. Bush hugged Ashley at an appearance in Ohio in 2003, holding her close and telling her, "I know that's hard. Are you all right?" The story of Mr. Bush's hug ran in the Cincinnati Enquirer. In June 2004, a group called Progress For America, a conservative pro-Bush group known as a 527 organization, so named for the part of the federal tax code...

I am posting this because I was asked by several members if there was a scholarship in honor of the fallen Marine Byron Norwood. Well I got in contact with one of my old teachers and asked her if there was one. She told me that there wasn't one but she said that she would copy my email and send it to the head principal at Pflugerville High School. I think if everyone, who would like to donate to such a scholarship, emails Mr. Larry Bradley he might get the idea and start one. This is new for Pflugerville because...

The mother of a Marine who died liberating Iraq and who provided the emotional high point of Wednesday night's State of the Union Address when she hugged a grateful Iraqi voter sitting in the gallery, denied Thursday morning that the unforgettable episode had been staged, as several left-leaning commentators have alleged. Appearing with her husband Bill on ABC's "Good Morning America," Janet Norwood, mother of Sgt. Byron Norwood, was asked whether the embrace was pre-planned by host Diane Sawyer. The exchange went like this: SAWYER: It was such a moving moment for everyone, including clearly the president, in the room...

President Bush's State of the Union address was crafted to address an array of challenges and boost administration strategies for dealing with them. That, after all, is what this affair - the political equivalent of the CEO's report to the stockholders - is all about. But for all the programs Bush outlined, all the initiatives he touted, the one moment indelibly etched on the consciousness of every viewer was a wordless one. It instantly became known as The Hug. It deeply touched even the flintiest of hearts among the assembled politicos, and reached everyday Americans with stunning impact. President Bush...