George Bush is a Sensitive, Caring Guy

"I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," he said. "I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

Bush said he made that decision after the August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, which killed Sergio Vieira de Mello, the top U.N. official in Iraq and the organization's high commissioner for human rights.

"I remember when de Mello, who was at the U.N., got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man's life," he said. "I was playing golf _ I think I was in central Texas _ and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, 'It's just not worth it anymore to do.'"

"Annual National Press Club comedy routines he's participated in: All of them.

"Times he played guitar while the Gulf Coast was drowning: 1

"Estimated number of returning veterans not being treated for PTSD and other disorders: tens of thousands.

"He's biked, run, worked out, met with members of athletic teams, thrown out first pitches, dismissed the importance of finding Osama Bin Laden, opposed expanding the GI Bill, but our troops and country can go to sleep happily assured that their Commander In Chief is not dissing their sweat and sacrifice, blood and tears by playing any of that dastardly golf stuff."

Blue Girl, Red State blogger Warren Street is skeptical of Bush's explanation: "Actually, it is far more likely that Bush quit playing golf because he was suffering from knee problems throughout the latter half of 2003," he writes.

And a Wonkette commenter suggests: "Has he thought about giving up Iraq for golf?"

In my March 25 column, Cheney's Unforgivable Egotism, I wrote about the vice president's incredible assertion that it is Bush -- not the soldiers and Marines who fight and die, or their families -- who is bearing the biggest burden of the war. Said Cheney: "The President carries the biggest burden, obviously; he's the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans. But we are fortunate to have the group of men and women, the all-volunteer force, who voluntarily put on the uniform and go in harm's way for the rest of us."

Just a week before that, Tabassum Zakaria of Reuters quoted Bush as telling a group of U.S. military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan that he envied them: "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you . . . in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger."

Sheryl Gay Stolberg wrote in the New York Times in December 2006: "The nation might despair, but not Mr. Bush; his presidential armor seemed firmly intact."

She noted: "On weeknights, the Bushes watch football or baseball on television, 'to try not to worry a little bit,' Mrs. Bush told CBS."

And Bush has repeatedly made clear that he is not overly troubled. People magazine asked Bush in December 2006 if he had trouble sleeping. As Karen Travers blogged for ABC News, his response was: "I must tell you, I'm sleeping a lot better than people would assume."

In June 2005, Bush told board members of the Radio-Television News Directors Association. "I'd say I'd spend most of my time worrying about right now people losing their life in Iraq. Both Americans and Iraqis." But then he added: "You know, I don't worry all that much, other than what I just described to you. I attribute that to . . . I've got peace of mind. A lot of it has to do with my particular faith, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that a lot of people pray for me and Laura . . . I'm sleeping pretty good. Seriously. I get asked that. There's times when I hadn't been. I've got peace of mind."

"It is not a sacrifice for any man, old or young, to be in the Army or the Navy of the United States. Rather is it a privilege. It is not a sacrifice for the industrialist or the wage earner, the farmer or the shopkeeper, the trainman or the doctor, to pay more taxes, to buy more bonds, to forego extra profits, to work longer or harder at the task for which he is best fitted. Rather is it a privilege."

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. . . .

"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

Yes, it really is. I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the Commander-in-Chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be as -- to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.

Thistle said:
I want to maim whomever writes his speeches. Horrible dreck.

Bill_the_Cat said:

I'd much rather maim whomsoever writes his policy.

illissilex said:
Well I personally am glad we're there to stay in Iraq, cause no offense to America (fuck yeah!) but I'd much rather see our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, than say... Russia, China, or North Korea. Well lets face it, he had a crappy reason for going there, he went, and now we're stuck, as far as gas and minimum wage hikes go, he had those planned and coming. Lets just hope we get a president who won't finish us off. But for now there's no blood and gore among most of America (again fuck yeah!) so lets count our blessings, cause any one of us could have been born someplace else that isn't quite as nice of a place to live in as this place has to offer.

Thistle said:

What does this even mean?

Thistle said:

What does this even mean? You're okay with people pointlessly dying because it could be so much worse? That's frankly total pap.

illissilex said:
Well I personally am glad we're there to stay in Iraq, cause no offense to America (fuck yeah!) but I'd much rather see our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, than say... Russia, China, or North Korea. Well lets face it, he had a crappy reason for going there, he went, and now we're stuck, as far as gas and minimum wage hikes go, he had those planned and coming. Lets just hope we get a president who won't finish us off. But for now there's no blood and gore among most of America (again fuck yeah!) so lets count our blessings, cause any one of us could have been born someplace else that isn't quite as nice of a place to live in as this place has to offer.

President Bush said with a straight face this week that he gave up golf in honor of the fallen soldiers in Iraq, claiming that he quit after the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003:

"I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," he said. "I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."


Bush said he made that decision after the August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, which killed Sergio Vieira de Mello, the top U.N. official in Iraq and the organization's high commissioner for human rights.

"I remember when de Mello, who was at the U.N., got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man's life," he said. "I was playing golf -- I think I was in central Texas -- and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, 'It's just not worth it anymore to do.'"

In fact, Bush went golfing two months after the bombing the UN headquarters, and Keith Olbermann found the video:

PointBlank said:
Please Note: Since Bush gave up golf, we haven't had a single terrorist attack on our soil. God bless him.