Newsweek: "I'm So Sorry" (* meeting with families of KIA)

[kskiska]

In emotional private meetings with the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush offers solace—and seeks some of his own.

Aug. 22, 2005 issue - The grieving room was arranged like a doctor's office. The families and loved ones of 33 soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan were summoned to a large waiting area at Fort Bragg, N.C. For three hours, they were rotated through five private rooms, where they met with President George W. Bush, accompanied by two Secret Service men and a photographer. Because the walls were thin, the families awaiting their turn could hear the crying inside.

President Bush was wearing "a huge smile," but his eyes were red and he looked drained by the time he got to the last widow, Crystal Owen, a third-grade schoolteacher who had lost her husband in Iraq. "Tell me about Mike," he said immediately. "I don't want my husband's death to be in vain," she told him. The president apologized repeatedly for her husband's death. When Owen began to cry, Bush grabbed her hands. "Don't worry, don't worry," he said, though his choking voice suggested that he had worries of his own. The president and the widow hugged. "It felt like he could have been my dad," Owen recalled to NEWSWEEK. "It was like we were old friends. It almost makes me sad. In a way, I wish he weren't the president, just so I could talk to him all the time."

(snip)

Before Bush left the meeting, he paused in the middle of the room and said to the families, "I will never feel the same level of pain and loss you do. I didn't lose anyone close to me, a member of my family or someone that I love. But I want you to know that I didn't go into this lightly. This was a decision that I struggle with every day."

As he spoke, Ascione could see the grief rising through the president's body. His shoulder slumped and his face turned ashen. He began to cry and his voice choked. He paused, tried to regain his composure and looked around the room. "I am sorry, I'm so sorry," he said.

more…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8941525/site/newsweek/

[TwilightZone]

1. Wow, that's a whopping 5 minutes per family.

3 hours * 60 min/hr = 180 minutes
180 minutes / 33 families = 5.5 minutes per family.

I'm so impressed. What compassion!

[blm]

2. Faux grief of a man knowing he's a FRAUD who LIED these men to their

deaths.

[bahrbearian]

3. Oh so now he's sorry . Its a little late don't ya think Monkey Boy ?

[Missy M]

4. My only answer to this article is.....

:grr:

[cornermouse]

5. I'm sorry, but I just don't believe this story.

Nothing that I have seen Bush do would give any support to this version at all.

[Ilsa]

11. I feel the same way after reading it.

I think he's waaaay to self-centered to come close to saying the right things to comfort people. This account sounds like a load of horse dung.

[JAbuchan08]

6. I'm sure he's sorry, I'm sure he gets emotional

but its one thing to empathize after the fact and another to make the right decisions in the first place.

[slay]

7. Bush - I uh.. only meet with family members not named Cindy though

:eyes:

[Jensen]

8. The idiot ..

(snip)

Before Bush left the meeting, he paused in the middle of the room and said to the families, "I will never feel the same level of pain and loss you do. I didn't lose anyone close to me, a member of my family or someone that I love. But I want you to know that I didn't go into this lightly. This was a decision that I struggle with every day."

Maybe he would do the right thing if one of his children "volunteer" for "the noble cause":grr:

[zbdent]

9. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. To Be Named later, in the loss of your daughter

Fill in the Blank . . ."

Ya. That's his compassion, alright . . .

[Demeter]

10. I'll Bet He's Sorry

But not yet sorry enough yet to make amends for the wrongs he's done this country and its citizens, or the people of the world.

That's okay--he'll have plenty of time in the Hague.

[LTRS]

12. This is just another propaganda piece

.... of the corporate media.

[KoKo]

13. What about his sister who died of leukemia? He forgot her?

:eyes: That's why I think this story is propaganda. Also our NC paper didn't repor any of his terrible grieving when he visited Fayetteville. With all the military families here one would think it woulf have been reported before. Or, maybe I missed it..but I still think it's propaganda.

Before Bush left the meeting, he paused in the middle of the room and said to the families, "I will never feel the same level of pain and loss you do. I didn't lose anyone close to me, a member of my family or someone that I love. But I want you to know that I didn't go into this lightly. This was a decision that I struggle with every day."

[pfitz59]

14. Watch William Hurt's character in "Broadcast News"....

and you'll see Bush*!

[Casablanca]

15. Cue Henry Rollins' "Liar".

"After Bush had left the room, witnesses heard what sounded like the President muttering the following:

I don't know why
I feel the need to lie
And cause you so much pain
Maybe it's something inside
Maybe it's something I can't explain
Cause all I do is mess you up and lie to you
I'm a liar
Oh I am a liar

But if you give me just one more chance
I swear I will never lie to you again
Because now I see the destructive power of a lie
Its stronger than truth
I can't believe that I ever hurt you
I swear I'll never lie to you again
Please just give me one more chance
I will never lie to you again
No I swear
I will never tell a lie
I will never tell a lie
No no
Ha ha ha haha ha
Oh oh oh
SUCKERRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSS ... HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"