Iraq Casualties Challenge Bush on a Response

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/05/politics/campaigns/05STRA.html

When the Chinook helicopter was shot down on Sunday in Iraq, killing 15 Americans, President Bush let his defense secretary do the talking and stayed out of sight at his ranch. The president has not attended the funeral of any American soldiers killed in action, White House officials say. And with violence in Baghdad dominating the headlines this week, he has used his public appearances to focus on the health of the economy and the wildfires in California.

But after some of the deadliest attacks yet on American forces, the White House is struggling with the political consequences for a president who has said little publicly about the mounting casualties of the occupation.

The quandary for Mr. Bush, administration officials say, is in finding a balance: expressing sympathy for fallen soldiers without drawing more attention to the casualties by commenting daily on every new death.

White House officials say their strategy, for now, is to avoid having the president mention some deaths but not others, and so avoid inequity. (Mr. Bush does send a personal letter to the family of every soldier killed in action and has met privately with relatives at military bases.)

<snip>

(Bush) was offended, his friends say, by what he saw at times as President Bill Clinton's exploitation of private grief for political gain.

[Occulus]

1. Hammer this home to all who love *

The president has not attended the funeral of any American soldiers killed in action, White House officials say.

[saigon68]

21. The Chimp will cut benefits for the wounded

The key phrase will be:


USED UP AND THEN THROWN AWAY.

[bpilgrim]

2. how many soilders were lost in clintons war?

0

peace

[Military Brat]

3. How opportune, we're learning that Clinton offended bush

Here's a news flash for bush: We're offended by your callous indifference to private grief for political gain.

[0007]

18. Bill Clinton's exploitation of private grief for political gain!

This is the way junior can go AWOL with More Clinton bashing!!

junior has no class!!

[denverbill]

26. Yes, but of course, Bush doesn't have the guts to say it himself.

His 'friends' have to 'report' that Bush felt that way.

And I just bet Bush really writes personal letters to every family. $100 says a staffer writes them and they are signed electronically. No way in hell Bush would deign to sign letters for non-campaign donors.

[justjones]

4. Yep....

(Bush) was offended, his friends say, by what he saw at times as President Bill Clinton's exploitation of private grief for political gain.

Just gotta throw in "it's Bill Clinton's fault" at each and every opportunity...pathetic. :eyes:

[UpInArms]

8. guess all those folks that died

on 9/11 were not privately grieved - 'cause he sure used them for political gain.

[jonoboy]

28. ditto there

how bloody outrageous of the bastards to say that.

[Rose Siding]

5. Bush can't give a speech without wrapping himself in Sept 11

CLINTON'S exploitation of grief?



Somehow, I'm not offended.

[Cha]

6. bush "offends" me by being a lying murdering

asshole! And bush is America's shame right now.

[Skip Intro]

12. A national shame like we've never known

a deep, sinking shame

[Zhade]

15. A-FREAKING-MEN, Zizdzi. You said it. I loathe Bush and his TraitorCo gang!

NT!

[grannylib]

24. Amen amen amen....to have this deserter as Commander in Thief...

is so disgusting there are no words sufficient to express myself...

[knowledgeispower]

27. You forgot "thief"

He is pilfering the coffers of Medicare and Medicaid to enrich his slimy bastard friends at Halliburton and Co. The man is a fucking waste of life and I personally will shit on his grave.

[austinboy]

7. OH MY GAWD!!!

No he didnt!!...:eyes:

<snip>
(Bush) was offended, his friends say, by what he saw at times as President Bill Clinton's exploitation of private grief for political gain.

[baby_bear]

9. Give the guy a break

He probably knows what kind of a reception he would get from the dead soldier's family/friends -- unlike Clinton, who could express real compassion, Bush would just spew phony lines, transparent to the real grievers.

If I were Bush, I'd stay away from any situation that required true emotion, since he apparently has none; and I think he would be unwelcome at most of those ceremonies anyway.

Would you want him to show up at a service for YOUR loved one?

I don't think so. And I think he knows he would be about as welcome as a skunk at a picnic. For those families who continue to believe he walks on water, well, this should show them that he could care less about their loss, because all he cares about his own gains.

How do you think the family of Pfc. Karina Lau, killed in the helicopter downing over the weekend, felt, when Bush said only "sons" were killed in the incident, no daughters?

What a guy.

s_m

[Media_Lies_Daily]

10. I'll give the guy a break when W slips out the back door and turns over..

...the government to somebody that knows what the heck they're doing.

[baby_bear]

11. I guess my sarcasm wasn't obvious enough

I'll try harder next time...

s_m

[OKHRANA]

13. "thanks for the sacrifice" is what he said

"to the families" then he changed the subject.

That's all I've heard him do or say to date.

[JailBush]

14. No Trifecta?

Bush is losing his touch; he celebrated 9/11 with his infamous Trifecta jokes, but he hasn't found a way to exploit war casualties.

"Holy cow, they just shot down a Chinook helicopter - I won the Trifecta!"

Nope, I guess it just doesn't work unless it's connected with something a lot bigger, like the World Trade Center.

[Zhade]

16. Don't give him ideas - next time They'll use Chinooks against buildings!

NT!

[July]

17. Somehow, he wasn't offended when HIS FATHER attended funerals

I saw this article, which mentioned that other presidents, including GHWB during Gulf War I, attended funerals for soldiers. Somehow, ONLY Bill Clinton's attendance at funerals was an exploitation of private grief for political gain.

So, what happened to the "responsibility to hug"? Wasn't that statement big on Bush's GREATER responsibility because he's the one who sent them (I think he was doing a little "I'm the Commander-in-Chief strut with the comment). WHERE ARE THE HUGS?

Even when the topic is soldiers'deaths in a war Bush had to have, it's spin, spin, spin . . .

[VLC98]

20. AWOL seen on TV yesterday...

with an arm around a lady who lost her home in the California fires. Property is more important to Republicans than lost sons and daughters. However, I know his propaganda team could find a willing (brainwashed) bereaved mother for him to demonstrate his "compassion" on.

[LizW]

19. Bookmark this article for use during the Repug convention

in September, 2004.

"(Bush) was offended, his friends say, by what he saw at times as President Bill Clinton's exploitation of private grief for political gain."

Staggering hypocracy.:puke:

[VLC98]

22. Bodies from Chinook shoot down already at Dover.

I don't know if this is common knowledge, but I read in my local paper this morning that the bodies arrived at about 9pm on Monday, a day before the arrival time officials gave Monday morning.

[Malva Zebrina]

23. It's always all about him

not honoring the soldiers who died for Bush's cause translates in his pea brain to how he "looks" to others. His inability to let go of Clinton, his obssession with competition and winning, is shallow, trite and adolescent in the face of the dead soldiers and their families need for recognition and honor from their country.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

25. Do they really expect anyone to believe that the Squatter-in-Chief...

...sends personal letters to the families of every soldier killed in action and meets privately with relatives at military bases??

This is really a dispicable lie...worse than most that the Bushies have told before, if that can even be imagined.

If what they describe were really happening, the Bushies would be blasting this out to every media outlet in the country complete with photos. On the contrary, we've seen several interviews of slain soldiers' relatives and they obviously haven't gotten any letters or private meetings.

[peterh]

29. He’s following his campaign game plan to the tee…

I wish I had a link to it, but a month or two ago, it was announced that the twit would concentrate on speaking in front of “friendly audiences” only (AEI, second graders, etc.) and have very limited discourse regarding Iraq…that would be delegated to the appropriate cabinet individual. The idea was to distance the twit, from a public standpoint, from Iraq.


Further evidence of this administration’s “that’s not my buck” philosophy.