As War Toll Rises, Governors Face Delicate Decisions

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/09/national/09govs.html

With bagpipes wailing, hundreds of mourners filed solemnly into a high school auditorium here on Sunday to honor Army Specialist Joseph Jeffries, 21, one of 18 Oregon soldiers killed over the last year in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Among the mourners was the state's governor, Theodore R. Kulongoski, a Democrat and former marine. After the two-hour military service and after Specialist Jeffries's pregnant widow, Betsy, and his parents and sisters had left the grounds, Mr. Kulongoski said in an interview that he used to anguish over whether to attend such funerals. But no longer.

"I became convinced that it was important for the families to know that I actually will take the time and that I care," he said. "And as the war goes on, it's starting to get into the broader public's mind the price of this, and there is a price."

<snip> Mother of fallen soldier But, she said, she resented President Bush for not attending any funerals. "I think he should attend every single solitary funeral and spend more time in Iraq and less time in Texas," she said. "Yes he's busy, but our soldiers are not too busy to serve."

She said she did receive a letter from President Bush, but she was offended that it arrived by Federal Express. "He couldn't have had someone hand it to us?" she asked.

[struggle4progress]

1. kick

:kick:

[Gin]

2. Federal Express??????? was that the soldiers death notice?

gin

[JM]

3. When condolences have to be there

absolutely positively overnight, the White House uses Fedex

JM

[Jacobin]

4. good grief

How odd and inappropriate can you get?

[Ilsa]

5. Probably because the

would-be official messengers are afraid they could be shot or hurt by the families getting the carbon copy letters from Smirk.

I thought that mother's comments were appropriate: Smirk is "too busy" to attend a single funeral for a soldier, but not too busy to vacation in Crawford every couple of months. If Smirk really gave a rat's ass, he'd go.