"It takes a liberal to suggest or to say directly that liberating 53,000,000 people is a war crime. It takes a liberals to say that keeping this nation safe from another horrific attack by terrorists amounts to a war crime."Tammy Bruce
O'Reilly Factor
January 27, 2009
Which is a nice excuse to quote a West Point Cadet about a Dec. 9 visit from President Bush. Pajamas Media
The next two hours were inspiring, amazing, and ultimately very revealing about who the commander-in-chief really was and what he really believed. After repeating the same injunction about recording devices, he began to take questions. Real questions. Unmoderated questions. Cadets, normally somewhat reticent about asking questions during a briefing, couldn’t get their hands in the air fast enough. He answered everything we threw at him, both the easy and the difficult. As time passed, I began to see this man for who he really was — contrary to all the most popular stereotypes, he was not a power-monger, not an evil oil baron, not the clumsy, bumbling fool as he has often been accused of being.
This was not the George W. Bush that we all thought we knew. Immediately, it became apparent why he didn’t want the press there — he wanted the freedom to be as candid with us as he knew how, as a classic Texas straight shooter down to the last word. Intimately familiar with the new media’s habitual mistreatment of any and all of his verbal missteps or lapses in diplomatic, politically correct language, he knew they would have pounced on this meeting. There would have been no end to the howling coming from his enemies’ camps.
Not politically correct? Yes. Not eloquent? True. Aware of his faults and shortcomings? Absolutely. Honest and sincere in pursing what he believes? Concerned for the welfare of the country, and especially for the welfare of soldiers and their families? You’d better believe it.
He finished, almost reluctant to leave, and thanked us from the bottom of his heart. For the next fifteen minutes, he took the time to chat with the horde of cadets pressing up against the barrier next to the stage. He talked to us, asked us personal questions, and shook every hand offered to him, lingering longer than the average “politician hand squeeze.” No one dared leave the room until after he’d disappeared into the hallway.
As we ascended the stairs and headed back to our rooms, I could hear almost every cadet expressing amazement and admiration for the man, even if they didn’t agree with his policies. I can say that I feel the same.
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