I sincerely enjoyed the wonderfully disingenuous column in the Washington Post today entitled, “Bush’s Battlefield Envy.” Columnist Dan Froomkin discusses President Bush’s recent meeting with a group of bloggers who were embedded with the U.S. military.
” N.Z. Bear,” one of the eight guests sitting around a table with Bush at the White House, reported: “Responding to one of the bloggers in Iraq he expressed envy that they could be there, and said he’d like to be there but ‘One, I’m too old to be out there, and two, they would notice me.’”
This comment apparently incensed Mr. Froomkin who then listed all the trips the President has made to Iraq and exactly how much time he spent on the ground for each visit.
He goes on to write,
“He certainly hasn’t ever put himself in harm’s way. The president who avoided serving in Vietnam as a young man has made only three visits to Iraq since declaring that major combat operations were over more than four years ago. All three of the visits were unannounced and featured extensive security.”
Mr. Froomkin actually makes a very valid point here and I find it difficult to argue with him. When most people think back to the Clinton Presidency they think of Monica Lewinsky and other such sordid affairs.
However, when I reflect on the Clinton Presidency I remember all those ‘Rambo’ moments the Commander-In-Chief kept getting himself into.
I remember President Clinton just days after he committed forces to stopping the ethnic cleansing in The Balkins. Not content to just sit in the oval office, Clinton would would insist on being right in the middle of the war zone. He would even shoot a few Serb soldiers himself and then stand on the corpses for a photo.
Of course who could forget the time President Clinton traveled to Somalia in 92-93 to personally hunt down the rebel leaders hijacking food shipments and starving out the refugees. President Clinton even intended on participating in the now infamous “Black Hawk Down” mission, but unfortunately was recovering from battlefield wounds received just days before.
It makes me sad when I remember those days, especially when I think about the current President. How did we ever go from a larger-than-life war hero like President Clinton, to a draft dodging pussy like President Bush?
Oh the shame of it.
Written By Chris Jones
Editor-In-Chief
The Hot Joints
