EMAIL OF THE DAY

“I had some different reactions to Bush’s speech. I thought the setting for Bush’s speech was brilliant. The bright daylight illuminating the colorful flags and uniforms against the battleship grey was arresting. The soldiers’ anticipation as they waited silently for Bush’s entrance made their applause during the speech feel, to me, genuine and joyful, quite moving. This visit was all about contrasts. Bush lands on an aircraft carrier, a heart pounding first for an American president, and sleeps on board. Contrast the feel of this visit with the idea of Cheney hiding out in Secret Location X and Bush retreating to Camp David throughout the war. This was much like his visit to Ground Zero after 9/11. I want to see the president going right to the soldiers, highlighting their accomplishments, expressing gratitude, live. He needs to publicly thank our soldiers for us, and he needs to thank them as Commander in Chief, which is why I disagree that it looked like he was using the military for partisan purposes; it’s his job to be there. I felt in awe of our pilots and sailors and could even tolerate Bush for a few minutes, a unique feeling for me. If people around the world see him on a aircraft carrier and associate us once again with miltary might, good. We are attempting to teach people how to treat us, are we not? I’m OK with people feeling intimidated if the alternative is thinking they can get away with flying airplanes into our skyscrapers.”