Thursday, December 9, 2004
Callimachus says his editors (he works in the MSM) weren't interested in a recent Bush visit to a California military base - wrote it off as a PR stunt.
Blackfive has an email from a guy who was there with the President:
The Plt Sgt Mitchell Paige Fieldhouse (a brand new $12.5m facility) has two basketball courts. One was curtained off and decks covered where he met with them together. Then, he met with the family members of each fallen Marine in the other gym individually. Having had the duty of a Casualty Assistance and Notification Officer many times in the past, I know how emotionally draining it is to talk to even one family at a time. When we put the President back on Marine One some three hours later, he was as somber and drained as I've ever seen him. It took an emotional toll on everyone involved.
Obviously, he did not have to make this visit. He could have delegated that task to anyone to do it for him. I have great respect for ones that will do the "right" thing, regardless of how tough it is.
Just thought you would like to hear a bit of the background...
As part of my work, I had to deal with a family who lost their son in Iraq - they were smashed. Very, very difficult people to deal with...and everyone I deal with is difficult - I sell cemetery monuments for a living. Now, even assuming they were a particularly tough case...an entire basketball court full of 170 of them is going to have more than its share of difficulty in it. Well more than its share.
No wonder Presidents age so quickly.
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