Quoting:The only president that I remember that had large disfavor in the military was Clinton.  End Quote

So true.

I have 3 freinds and 2 uncles currently serving in the military.  And yes, they all have said they felt no gratitude or appreciation from Clinton while they served.  

My uncle told me when Clinton was in office, his army company "wasn't willing to walk across the street for that guy, let alone fight a war under him".  However, they have all felt strongly about the Iraq war under Bush, and very much beleive in its cause.  




On a side note:  Our pathetic media is highly responsible for the emotions and feelings of most people.  Just as the other night I was flipping through the channels and stopped on CBS: Up to the Minute at around 4:00am, and they reported that 2 US soldiers were ambushed, shot, and had their bodies mutilated and crushed by rocks and cement blocks by Iraqi citizens.  Well I thought to myself "I'll beleive it when I see it".  And sure enough, the next day on ABC News, they reported that all of that never even happened!  Our media sucks, and it always will as long as the owners are allowed to project their opinions into the newscasts.

Quoting:
On a side note:  Our pathetic media is highly responsible for the emotions and feelings of most people.
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Yes, and that is EXACTLY the point!

Unlike 98% of Americans, the President can have DIRECT influence on how the military lives, works, and even dies.  Look at your own jobs, and tell me if the President can make you do that?

The best Presidents use the military as a tool, because that is what it is.  But like any tool, it needs to be taken care of, treated respectfully, and used correctly.  And the military is a tool, a tool that can do great good or harm.  It is intended to protect things they care about, or to destroy things.

Clinton never understood the military, he used it like a bad mechanic uses a wrench to pound in a nail.  He would often send them in to work like cops...  bad move!

Military are not cops.  They go into a conflict, and take one side to stop the fighting.  We did that in every war, including Korea.  But the Clinton use of "Police" was totally wrong.  He sent them into Somalia and Yugoslavia, and told them "Do not take sides, do not attack anybody except in defense, but stop the fighting".  Wrong answer.

Bush used the military, as did his father.  He sent them in to stare across the border, saying "do the right thing, or we will get you".  When Iraq did not do that, he set them loose.  THAT is the proper use.  Clinton sent them over and have them make faces across the border, but both Iraq and the military knew he would never let them do their job.

Reagan made the mistake of useing the military as police, and we got the Beirut baracks bombing, where Marines died.  But you notice, he did not make the same mistake twice.  Kennedy used the military effectively, with the blockade of Cuba, and the advisors to help South Vietnam.  I feel that if he had not been killed, we would not have gotten into the mess that Johnson got us into.  He is the one that took a regional conflict and politicized it.

Clinon used the military wrongly, he would treat them like garbage then expect them to die for him.  One of his first acts was to allow the "don't ask - don't tell" policy.  Now for one, that had been the unofficial policy for a LONG time in the military.  As long as they did not know you were gay, they did not care.  But he forced it down their throats, reguardless of what ALL of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff though.  He then made huge cutbacks, shrinking their size, training, equipment, and living conditions.  THen he put them into situations that they could NOT have done successfully.

THen after all the bad treatment, he tried to use the "Soldier-Sailors Relief Act" to hide behind when he was first charged with sexual harassment.  And let's not forget that when some high ranking military advisors spoke out against the wars in Yugoslavia and Somalia, he took away their 1st ammendment rights.  Not many remember that he issues a military gag order, threatening to prosecute any military member that called a talk show, gave an interview, or wrote a newspaper editorial against his actions.

Unlike the general population, the military does not get "spin control" that matters.  It is easy for congress to tell the general public "We are the cause of this" or "we are not the cause of this".  Or for the President to say "I am the reason everything looks so good".  But when the military is living in crumbling barracks, or is only training 2-3 days a month, they KNOW that the commitment for them is just not there.

ANd I am not speaking blindly here.  I served proudly in the US Marines from 1983 to 1993.  I was in the Infantry, and saw how a lot of these things affected the servicemen.  ANd talking with those stil in after I got out, I saw how morale plunged under Clinton.  While most of the people thought he was wonderful, I saw how the normal military people thought he was a buffoon, who only cared about his "legacy", useing their bodies to try and get it.

As a side note:  I do not remember ANY President worring about his "legacy" during his term in office.  But during the last years of Clinton, that was all I heard about.  "The Clinton Legacy" became such a big thing, it made me sick every time I heard it on the news.

Quoting:
*sigh*  Now if only all you great guys lived in the People's Republic of Maryland!     :-* :-* :-*  
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LOL!

Well, until earlier this year I lived in the Peoples Republic Of California, and that was bad enough.

Quoting:


So true.

I have 3 freinds and 2 uncles currently serving in the military.  And yes, they all have said they felt no gratitude or appreciation from Clinton while they served.  

My uncle told me when Clinton was in office, his army company "wasn't willing to walk across the street for that guy, let alone fight a war under him".  However, they have all felt strongly about the Iraq war under Bush, and very much beleive in its cause.  


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Then you may find this a nice addition  ;)

Bush Comforts Families

By JOHN DIEDRICH- THE GAZETTE

President Bush gave hugs and kisses, shook the hands of children and at one point cried Monday as he consoled the families of Fort Carson soldiers killed in Iraq.

Bush spent nearly two hours — a hour more than scheduled — privately comforting nearly 100 family members in three rooms at a helicopter hangar, decorated with couches, televisions, tables and chairs, according to people who were there.

“It came from his heart, and you could tell it meant a lot to him and that means a lot to me,” said Melissa Latham, whose husband, Staff Sgt. William Latham, died June 18 from injuries he suffered in Iraq in May.

The president came into each room and told everyone how sorry he was for their loss.

He then met with each family individually.

Latham, who took her three children — Patricia, 10, Travis, 9, and Jeremy, 6 — delivered a message from William’s father.

“He wanted me to say he is behind (Bush) and get it done right the first time and not have our kids have to go over and finish what dads are trying to do,” said Melissa Latham, who told the president she felt the same way.

Sally and Chuck Taylor’s son, Staff Sgt. Michael Quinn, was killed May 27 in a checkpoint shootout.

Sally Taylor said Bush took time with each family, giving them his entire attention.

“The empathy that he showed, the time he took, the rapport he had with brand-new babies. This man is incredible,” she said.

Taylor said she watched as Bush spent a long time with one woman whose husband was killed recently and her children.

Taylor likened it to a prayer circle.

“He reached, and he touched all the lives in there,” she said.

“It made me feel not so out there in left field like a statistic. . . . I found it very helpful.”

Melissa Givens, whose husband, Pfc. Jesse Givens, was killed May 1, told Bush she still supports the war and that her husband believed everyone should have freedom.

“I hope you believe that, too,” Bush told her.

“I do,” Givens said.

Givens’ 6-year-old son, Dakota, didn’t believe Bush was real at first and even joked about wanting to pull on the president’s ear to see.

“I told him if you pull on his ear, we’ll get arrested,” Givens said.

Bush assured Dakota he was real and really the president.

Givens said she tried to hold back the tears, but they came anyway.

“I hugged him, and I kept crying so he kept hugging me,” she said.

“He told us how sorry he was and he had tears in his eyes.”
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Bill Clinton probably would've tried to get laid ::)

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You know what was funny about all this, is how upon finding out the Prez was in Iraq, the democrat leaders immediatley began criticising it.  I saw one of the Democrat Party advisors on yesterday saying basically it wasn't a big deal that he went over there and that it doesn't change anything. ::)  Hello, ever hear of morale?  if nothing else, it gave the troops a huge morale boost, and showed them the Prez and their country is there behind them.

It was funny to see some of the high-ranking dems squirm to find a way to downplay it.  
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I don't know if anyone's said it yet, but I think the Democrats are bugged because they KNOW that Dubya had a great idea, executed it, and there's nothing they can really do about it.

Quoting:
It was a nice gesture for Dubya to come to Iraq for Thanksgiving, even though I know it's only a publicity stunt, like Clinton's entire Presidential tenure was one giant publicity stunt. And Kennedy in Berlin. Or Jerry Ford pardoning Nixon.
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well the way I see it, even if it is undertoned as a political move or a publicity stunt, it did have a huge impact on the troops morale.  And to me, thats what counts.

Quoting:
The Democrats absolutely hate Bush because he has actually taken up so-called "Democrat" issues such as education reform and prescription drugs and done something with them.  The Republicans are learning how to be the "majority party" in Washington, and this just has the Democrats STEAMED.

Now mind you, I do not agree with everything Pres. Bush is doing, but the Dems have gotten into the habit of blaming EVERYTHING on him, including the latest Total Lunar Eclipse.  ;)

It is interesting that Denocrats claim to be "pro choice" when it comes to abortion, but when issues of Choice arise as to school vouchers or regulated Medicare private options, the Dems are VIRULENTLY anti-choice!  That is because the Dems are, above everything, enslaved to a Union political base, which interestingly is shrinking.

I am tired of Repubs and Dems alike who do nothing but bash and do that "straight party line" crap.  Neither party has a monopoly on good ideas.  And if both of them would stop thinking about the next election and start thinking about what is rught for America they'd see it too.
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Well said good sir :)

Quoting:


well the way I see it, even if it is undertoned as a political move or a publicity stunt, it did have a huge impact on the troops morale.  And to me, thats what counts.
End Quote

Quoting:

Then you may find this a nice addition  ;)

Bush Comforts Families

By JOHN DIEDRICH- THE GAZETTE





“He told us how sorry he was and he had tears in his eyes.”
==============================================

Bill Clinton probably would've tried to get laid ::)

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Nicely said...and true!   :-/

Quoting:
look, i do agree but the thing is ther are some people who are and now i have seen a site that should convince every body and make sure you read the whole thing before you click the x just check out  http://www.geocities.com/trebor_92627/Bush.htm     plese do
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As I've already said elsewhere, this site doesn't convince me of anything except that whoever built it is a fool.