Bush Visits Soldiers at Ky. Military Base

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON - A year after he sent troops to Iraq (news - web sites), President Bush (news - web sites) is thanking about 20,000 who have returned to a military base in Kentucky and meeting with survivors of some who never made it home.

The trip Thursday to Fort Campbell is part of Bush's campaign to persuade Americans to give him another four years as commander in chief, at a time when military leadership occupies center stage in the presidential campaign.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) accuses Bush of leaving American troops vulnerable in Iraq, while Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) argue that Kerry lacks the judgment to lead the armed forces.

Bush's chief Republican rival in 2000, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Thursday he does not believe Kerry is weak on defense even though they disagree on some issues. McCain, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee (news - web sites) and is a friend of the Massachusetts senator, said a discussion of Medicare and other issues should replace negative campaigning.

~snip~
more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=3&u=/ap/20040318/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush

Wonder what kind of press coverage the soldiers will get today?

[Corgigal]

1. Well, that nice of him

I hope they get all the pictures they want now because if any of them come home in a wooden box their families will be lucky to get a form letter.

[Cursive_Knives512]

2. That's nice of Bush...

But shouldn't he have been doing things like that all along, not just for campaigning purposes but as the duties of Commander-in-Chief?

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. God, the guy will go anywhere he............

doesn't have to face the publc. What a coward.

[soup]

4. Promises and Photo-ops

Promises

WASHINGTON - Dan Hill, a retired Vietnam vet who lives in Tampa, still remembers the promises George W. Bush made to veterans when he was running for president.

In 2000, Bush pledged to improve veterans benefits and eliminate the backlog of men and women seeking health care at VA facilities. His platform emphasized that the GOP is "the traditional advocate of America's veterans."

A lifelong Republican, Hill said he is so angry with what he sees as Bush's failure to keep his promises to veterans that he's thinking about voting for John Kerry, a fellow Vietnam vet who's the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

"I'd rather have the devil I don't know than the devil I do know," said Hill, 59. "President Bush is going to have a lot of trouble winning veterans' votes this year."
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/03/08/Worldandnation/Veterans__vote_may_hi.shtml


Photo-ops
This young man's story just breaks my heart. I wish him the best and hope his resolve to walk again is successful:

>snip<
Although he had joined the Army to serve his country right out of Brandon High School in June 2001, he didn't think invading Iraq made much sense.

``The whole Iraq war thing, to me, it wasn't justified,'' he said. ``But, still, at the same time, I couldn't really just come out and say that.''

So he didn't. He kept quiet, as did his mother, Vicky Harris, who accompanied her son to meet President Bush. Williams was among three Iraq veterans invited to the White House for Veterans Day in a ceremony organized by Paralyzed Veterans of America.

``We had no time to talk about the war,'' Harris said. ``The only time that came down was when it was time to take pictures. It was nice to meet him face to face, but it was hard.''

Williams and his family were taken by surprise when the United States decided to topple Saddam Hussein. It seemed to the young soldier that Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaida terrorist network had been forgotten.
http://www.tampatrib.com/MGAIXHJOSRD.html

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

5. A thought crossed my mind

It is about Kentucky's two-letter code and all the brouhaha about gays in the Army. But I'll choose not to elaborate on that.