Heroic? That POS slithering in and out of Baghdad was heroic?

[TruthIsAll]

I'll give you heroic.

It's those soldiers who are there every day not knowing if it's their last. Who are forced to stay in harms way as Bush crony's get rich while the unelected fraud poses for photo-ops.

It's those Iraqi mothers and children who have been suffering from the effects of our sanctions and bombings and depleted unranium, who have died by the hundreds of thousands.

It's those 9/11 widows, who refuse to let Bush get away with his crimes, lies and coverups.

It's Max Cleland, missing limbs from the war, fighting the good fight, knowing the election was stolen from him by chickenhawk low-lifes who had the audacity to question his patriotism..

It's Al Gore, the Presidency stolen from him, telling us in beautfully eloquent speeches how our national honor, dreams and hopes are being squandered.

It's JFK in the Solomons, swimming from his sinking PT boat, carrying a wounded sailor to shore.

It's JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis, listening to but rejecting the war hawks, saving us from nuclear Armageddon through secret diplomacy with Kruschev.

It's John Glenn, smashing through the atmosphere with a heat shield in flames.

It's the Dixie Chicks, speaking their mind, rather than holding back for fear of losing their livelihood.

It's Jackie Robinson, putting up with racial taunts for the first two years, holding himself back, fighting for his race.

It's Pee Wee Reese, a southern Kentucky gentleman, putting his arm around Jackie on the field, to show he cared, while the bigots shouted their bile at Jackie.

It's Dennis Kucinich, speaking the words we want to hear.

It's Martin Luther King, refusing to join in the violence, knowing his words of compassion and peace were the only weapons he needed.

That's heroic.

[Military Brat]

1. Amen

:dem:

[TruthIsAll]

17. My take: It was not uplifting to the troops; it was demoralizing..

They knew he was AWOL. Now they know why. He sneaks in and out real quick for a political photo-op. His choice Fox reporters were there. People were told how to act in front of the camera. But you could see the look on the faces of the troops in the background. Grim.

Everything is staged. It's all so transparent. And yet he continues to get away with it in the Whore Press.

He owns Murdoch. Or is it the other way around?

And what are the parents of the fallen troops feeling right now? That it was all worth it? Like all the other photo-ops, he will rue the day he did this.

[pinkpops]

2. If he was a hero

he would hold press conferences and make speaches in front of people who might possibly disagree with him. He is the opposite of heroic.

[Bombtrack]

3. i think this thread should be locked, it's pretty much a dupe

there is a thread saying more or less the exact same thing

[Faygo Kid]

10. Is it the same list? If not, let it stand

Didn't see the other thread, will look for it. This list is great, though.

[oasis]

12. Q: What does Bush bashing and money have in common?

A: There is no such thing as too much. :-)

[liberalmuse]

19. I disagree.

The post that started this thread was very eloquent and moving, and that alone is worth keeping this thread open.

[0007]

30. I don't think this thread should be locked!

If ya don't like it move on.

[JailBush]

4. Bush should have read the troops a story about a PET GOAT, then

jumped on board Air Force One and fled to Nebraska.

[Eric J in MN]

5. good point (nt)

nt

[ScotTissue]

6. I gave Hillary kudos

So I have to give W. the same. The fact that he is POTUS excuses his "not meeting average Iraqis." Too dangerous.

Do we have a candidate who will say, "Wow! That was awesome! I promise to go to Iraq, too?"

[liberalmuse]

20. Why not meet with the wounded?

Because people with missing limbs don't make good photo ops. He is an insincere coward who only knows how to swagger before the cameras and adoring (carefully hand-picked) crowds. I agree this stunt will go over well with the phony plastic people, but anyone with a little depth and discernment will see it for exactly what it was. And I hope none of our candidates EVER use our soldiers as backdrops for their campaigns. Disgusting!

[fairfaxvadem]

7. Absolutely NOT heroic....

It made my skin crawl the minute the news broke yesterday and it was not at all like Clinton or LBJ or Eisenhower or any other previous prez visiting troops they'd put in harm's way.

This was nothing but a publicity stunt. They would have had to have demonstrated consistent interest in the welfare of our soldiers all these months for me to believe otherwise. They haven't.

And seeing Bush on that stage looking like freaking Ceasar himself. I'm surprised he wasn't coached to say: "veni, vidi, vici".

Yuck.

[Faygo Kid]

8. Thank you. Bush's gesture NOT heroic

Your list is inspiring. Bush had to be dragged into this, the coward, as all the news reports reflect. Here's some more heroism:
Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus.
Lincoln going to Richmond at the end of the Civil War.
The Alamo defenders' resolve when they knew they would die.
All those beaten, killed and jailed during the civil rights movement.
The young American woman killed by a bulldozer by the Israelis.
Bobby Kennedy picking up the torch, and dying with it.
George Ball staying in the Johnson Administration and trying to convince them to end the war, until he could no longer be heard.
Daniel Ellsberg releasing the Pentagon Papers to give us the truth.
Gene McCarthy speaking truth to power.
And so many other, ordinary Americans who do not have the protection GWB enjoyed. Bet he was scared stiff just going to the airport in an unmarked car. The GOP Chickenhawks define cowardice. This is just another example.

[scottcsmith]

Why do people think Israelis are cold-hearted killers?

Obviously it was a tragic accident that Rachel Corrie died, but that doesn't mean the Israeli bulldozer driver ran her over just for the hell of it. There's eyewitness testimony that the driver didn't see her; she was in a ditch and, as she was trying to climb up and out of the ditch to warn the driver, she slipped on the loose dirt and soil and fell back into the ditch, and the driver ran her over because he didn't see her. Why is that scenario so hard to believe?

[Faygo Kid]

15. You misread me. Read again.

I never said Israelis are cold-blooded killers; I was speaking of Rachel Corrie's standing up, not the Israeli motivation. Whatever YOU think of HER motivations, she demonstrated exceptional bravery. And that was simply my point.

[Cheswick2.0]

28. What ditch?

there was no ditch

[0007]

31. Listen deary, a photo is worth a thousand words!

...and what does this have to do with chickenshit junior and his sneaky trip?

[madrchsod]

9. you forgot one.

the working class heroes. the men and women who put their lives on the line everyday to protect us, the constrution workers who climb with the birds to build our building,the steelworkers who labor in hell on earth in the summer and freeze in winter,and the men and women who build our roads. i know there`s more working class heroes that put their lives on the line, this is just a few i can think of

[Faygo Kid]

13. Excellent! Here's just a couple more

The single moms raising their families.
The many unemployed who have lost their jobs in the Bush economy, yet persevere.
All more courageous than that wimp, and his apologists.

[kentuck]

11. Excellent !

And I agree...

[oasis]

14. Backdoor to Baghdad: Co-written by Bush and Barney Fife.

[Faygo Kid]

16. How dare you couple Bernard P. Fife with Bush?

Barney may not have been the bravest person in the world, but he always acted with the best intentions. A number of episodes had him standing up to bullies, at what he perceived was great risk (Andy always bailed him out). That is bravery. Barney was 100 times the person George W. is.

[absyntheNsugar]

18. I will say this...it was one hell of a PR stunt

One which will take a lot of work for the Dem candidate to overcome.

Expect to see videos of that speech in Bushie reelection commercials come election time.

I hope to God we can counter that...

[Lorien]

23. Pfft! It'll backfire

just like the flight suit photo op. The apolitical people at my Thanksgiving dinner saw right through it as soon as they had the details ("two hours at an airbase? What a pussy"!)I think we've come to the point that our expectations are as low as they can possibly be for this waste of oxygen that when takes the slightest step towards doing what every President before him had done as a matter of course, we're impressed. Had it been Clinton, he would have arrived announced ahead of time, and stayed for several days. And dammit, he would have broken bread with the troops!

[LibDemAlways]

21. Every Sunday in church I see ordinary people coping with

extraordinarily difficult problems:

A single father raising identical twin teenage sons who are both autistic and spend the entire Mass rocking back and forth and occasionally moaning or shouting out.

A paralyzed young girl, perhaps 12, head back, staring vacantly into space - tended to by her mother who has several other children in tow.

A young cub scout in uniform unable to walk.

A single father of four young children who lost his wife to cancer three years ago. His 6 year old daughter probably won't remember her mother - a woman who faced her illness with tremendous courage and would have given anything not to have to leave her young family behind.

I look at these people and think they are heroes just for getting up and facing another day.

The chimp wouldn't last an hour in any of their shoes.

[KFC]

22. If you think the Dixie Chicks are heroic and compare them to MLK

Well, I think you are a clown.

[TruthIsAll]

25. And I think your (K)entucky (F)ried (C)hicken,, n/t

..

[0007]

32. ....and I agree with your clever reply to KFC

[Octafish]

24. Bravo!

Well said, TruthIsAll!

By the sound of the headline: If Bushler did something heroic in stopping over at Baghdad airport for a couple of hours, what's that make the service personnel who stayed behind? There's got to be a word that describes a true hero?

[waywest]

26. It's consistent with other campaign stops

He is smuggled in through the guarded back door, or underground tunnel. The sanitized, preselected audience swoons and donates, and *W and pickles never see or hear a hint of dissent.
I'm sure *W is wondering "What's the big deal about Baghdad? Everything seemed fine to me!"

[VOX]

27. Give 'em hell, TruthIsAll!

Every word is truth -- thanks for posting this.

:kick:

[Dees]

29. A hero? About the time that coke boy was becoming

a DKE at Yale PFC Milton Olive, 173rd Airborn, covered a grenade
to save his squad from harm on a mission in Vietnam. He was awarded the Medal of Honor. Bu$h is a disgrace to all that gave their lives and to us that served in that conflict. Lt. MonkeyNuts was a deserter and a coward.

[mmonk]

33. If it was heroic

then Sen. Clinton spending time in both Afghanistan and Baghdad was double heroic, right?

[DemNoir]

34. Hartford Courant Headline "Perilous Journey"

You just have to sit back and marvel at the Rove machine.

[opihimoimoi]

35. We have our Heros running for the Presidency

and they are not traitors/unpatriotic to criticize Bush either. Last I heard, this is not 1930's Germany where criticizing Hitler led to the death camp.

This is America, LAND OF THE FREE.

FREE TO SAY IF WE THINK THE PREZ IS DOING A LOUSY JOB OR NOT. Unpatriotic my ass.

Just think if Hitlers dissenters had been successful, no WW2.

Or Stalin's

or Pol Pot's

or etc,

Dissent, honest and true dissent is a brake on loloness run amok.