Tuesday when I clicked on the TV before breakfast, I saw a refreshed George W. Bush starting his speech to the American Legion. Here is the Commander in Chief, well rested, confident and joking with the organization that represents the largest number of American military veterans. Was he defensive about the disclosure that the wounded members of this group are being treated in the rat infested moldy part of Walter Reed Hospital, which were only steps away from the elegant suites where he and top government officials get the finest medical care?
Well, he did say that he was addressing the problem, and he had set up a bi-partisan commission to look into it. What a stroke of genius. Now that it's been disclosed that he, his Republican administration, the most uni-partisan in history, has allowed his injured troops to be treated in rat holes. Now, he selects a BI-partisan commission. Neat switcheroo: the deciders dereliction is transformed into a national problem.
He also confided that the war in Iraq hit a little snag last year. Carefully, like a professor explaining to his class, he explained that Al Qaida did things to foment sectarian hatred that has been a bit hard to control, but they are on the track to solving this problem. And who could have possible expected that those who oppose us would attempt to trigger the genocidal hatred seething for centuries among the people of that country? How could he possibly be responsible for not anticipating such "un-sportsmanlike" behavior from our mortal enemies?"
This speech had everything. There was his disdain for those who do wimpy things like, you know, read. These are the kind of eggheads who would try to understand a complex situation before taking a country into a war that they can not get out of. He describes a youth group he supports with the words,
this as an initiative that does not emphasize classroom and textbook learning. That's my kind of program. (Laughter and applause.)
And the old standbys such as ,
If we fail in Iraq, the enemy will follow us home. (Applause.) Their success in Iraq would bring danger to America, and that is why America must prevail in Iraq. (Applause.)
And of course:
Yet even among our differences, there are a few questions that surely have been settled. One is that September the 11th was not only a crime but an act of war -- (applause) -- a war waged by fanatics who believe it is their duty to kill Americans, and impose their hateful ideology as far as they can spread it.
And as he hoped, no one questioned the little detail that we were at war with a country that had not "waged war" on us on 9-11.
And here's a bit of rhetorical legerdemain that you almost have to admire:
We have an obligation, we have a moral obligation to provide the best possible care and treatment to the men and women who have served our country. They deserve it, and they're going to get it. (Applause.)
O.K. We didn't do that, so let's change the subject real quick:
My Administration appreciates your strong support of the flag. The flag is emblazoned on the uniforms of brave men and women who serve our country. It is draped on the coffins of those who fall on the field of battle. It is a symbol of a noble nation and of a higher calling. I join with you and the elected legislatures of all 50 states in urging Congress to provide the flag with the Constitutional protection it deserves. (Applause.)
The assembled audience, rather than rise up in outrage at this man who allowed their brothers in arms to be unprotected by armor or sufficient forces, and then provided third world treatment to those who are acknowledged to be damaged, ignoring the one third additional troops that have untreated psychiatric trauma; applauded him. The Troops can be decimated, thrown in rat holes if they find their way to a VA hospital. He will not protect these living men and women; but he will protect a tri- colored banner, the flag, with a constitutional amendment that trashes what remains of our civil liberties.
To the audience of ex service men attending his speech, George W. Bush was a national hero. He does not read dailykos, and he probably doesn't even read the N.Y Times, the Washington Post or other "liberal media." As readers of this blog we can imagine how this President, imputing our own responses, must be feeling about the tragedy of Iraq. Sure we sometimes are a bit over-the-top here, but even his own team, his own intelligence agencies, his own top generals, all tell him what the tragic reality is in Iraq. Yet, if you watch this speech, it is as though it were given in May of 2003, when for a brief moment before the agents of resistance had formed, it looked like the neo-con dream could just possibly be realized.
Any expectation that there has been any change, or any possibility of change in this man, is dispelled by this amazing performance.
A hat tip to Mohigan's diary American Legion: AWOL, which also covered this speech.
Excerpts of the speech are from Whitehouse.gov