Bush Surprises Departing Troops With Gift -- Himself

[Rose Siding]

snip>
President Bush, after a campaign appearance in Bangor, held his plane on the tarmac when he heard an MD-11 carrying 292 Army reservists and National Guard members were about to refuel here. For the troops, grimly heading toward an 18-to-24-month assignment in Iraq, it was a welcome lift. For Bush, who has been accusing his Democratic presidential opponent, Sen. John F. Kerry, of demoralizing the troops in Iraq by criticizing the war effort, it was a chance to demonstrate his devotion to the troops.

"May God bless you all," the commander in chief said over the plane's public address system. "May God keep you safe." As he worked his way up and down the plane's aisles, posing for photographs, signing autographs and shaking hands, the happily surprised troops called out to him.

"That's my president, hooah!" shouted Sgt. Wanda Dabbs, a 22-year-old member of the 230th Area Support Group, a Guard unit from Tennessee. Others seconded her cheer.

Bush's impromptu visit with the departing soldiers came with some risk. It could remind the American public that more and more reservists and Guard members are being removed from their workplaces and sent on dangerous assignments in an increasingly bloody Iraq.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45682-2004Sep23.html

Blows me away that the only "risk" in this situation that the reporter sees fit to mention is to Bush :grr:

[Wickerman]

1. Ironic, ain' it?

Bush sends guardsmen off to their possible death - 30 years after he sed hte guard to avoid death - and then refused to fulfill his obligations. Its all so damn wrong.

[n2mark]

86. Photo Op

What a great photo op, give me your votes and God bless you. But if you return home dead, I don't know you! and I don't care. Just blow up those Iraq's!

[Eye and Monkey]

2. Bush said, "May God keep you safe. Because my policies sure won't!"

Then he whined in a squeeky voice, "Please don't kill me!" while giggling with inappropriate glee.

[Roy]

63. And please fill out your absentee ballot before landing

N/T

[Thor_MN]

83. Naw, they already have that taken care of...

[saigon68]

82. The Halliburton Shareholders wish you well too !!!!!!

"Kill Rag Heads and keep the oil flowing boys" he continued.

[Lisa]

3. did he leap out of a cake, wearing his flightsuit?

Boy, just the sight I would want to see as I was leaving home on a dangerous mission. NOT!

Did they explain what the "risk" to Bush was? Tripping and falling on the steps to the plane, perhaps? Surely they weren't calling the troops a potential threat!

[Rose Siding]

4. Political risk

reminding people blah blah- in the last paragraph I snipped.

I like this guy- he doesn't sound sold on Bush:

Sgt. 1st Class Bobby Dailey, a Federal Express worker normally, was asked if the boisterous reception meant these were all Bush supporters. "We're commander-in-chief supporters," he clarified, and pointed out: "It ain't every day you land somewhere and the president gets on your plane."

Apparently Bush hadn't planned this- the soldiers just happened to be leaving from where he was speaking, so he graced them.

[Lisa]

11. thanks -- I should have read the whole story first

But I was just so irritated by the press coverage that I had to blurt something out. BTW, "graced" them -- don't you mean "dis-graced"?

[leesa]

15. They are SUPPOSED to be supporting their country and the constitution

NOT the alleged CIC.

[Carolab]

20. So he just decides

to take advantage of the photo op, since he's there and all...how nice. "Hooah".

[MichiganVote]

79. Some risk!!!??? Did he have his body armor? Need a reinforced limo

Bush graced them? Isn't it the other way round? Nauseating.

[jumpstart33]

5. "Caesar, we who about to die, salute you!"

HOOAH!!!

Really sad, sad, sad.

[trogdor]

46. From your fingers to God's browser.

I wish there were some way to rate posts, like at Daily Kos. I'd give you a four.

[antonialee839]

6. If I received

a gift like that I'd head for the nearest PX and demand a refund.

[progressivebydesign]

7. "May god bless you", "may god keep you safe".. he said..

as he worked his way down the aisle? WHo the fuck is he? The Pope or Jimmy Swaggart? I can't tell...

[AspenRose]

59. Reeks of a 21st century crusade, doesn't it?

Crusader king blessing the soldiers off to fight those "brown skinned" muslims, eh? Geez.

I'm Christian and I'm offended by that imagery....

[progressivebydesign]

66. Yes, I think it was pretty disgusting...

.. it's one thing for a president to do a short talk and say.. "God bless america and keep our troop safe", but UGH to walk amongst them doling out blessing is just creepy! He's not a well man...Onward Christian Soldiers! and all that..

[AlCzervik]

8. RisK for Bushwa?

Bush's impromptu visit with the departing soldiers came with some risk. It could remind the American public that more and more reservists and Guard members are being removed from their workplaces and sent on dangerous assignments in an increasingly bloody Iraq.


How about the risk to those troops actually going to Iraq????

[Demonaut]

9. I'm sorry but I guarentee those that shook his hand will probably get

hurt, everything he touches turns to shit

[Carolab]

21. Maybe he had one of those

fun hand buzzers

[lightbulb]

67. that reminds me

I once got a flaming bag of dog crap on my front porch in the middle of the night. That was an equally thoughtful gift.

[drdtroit]

10. What a POS shrub is. n/t

[Flammable Materials]

12. "Return Department? I'd Like To Exchange This Gift, Please." n/t

[Minstrel Boy]

13. "That's my president, hooah!"

Well, that's just about the saddest thing I've read all day.

May God keep you safe, Sgt. Wanda Dabbs.

[Pax Argent]

14. No, risk would be trying that trick with

troops coming BACK from Iraq. Now watching that would be entertaining!

[Voltaire99]

16. "That's my president, hooah!" shouted Sgt. Wanda Dabbs

Famous moments in Hooah History:

• "That's the guy with the whip, hooah!" shouted galley slave Maximus Buttoxus.
  
  
• "That's a fantastic iceberg, hooah!" shouted the captain of the Titanic.
  
  
• "That's an interesting group of hippies at this hour, hooah!" shouted party-giver Sharon Tate.
  
  
• "That's a country itching to wave flowers for invaders, hooah!" shouted Donald Rumsfeld.

[Minstrel Boy]

26. I'm doubled over here, that's too funny.

[GeorgeBushytail]

27. Maybe the reporter transcribed Hooah wrong

The soldier was saying Bush is a prostitute. Hooah is the Southern pronunciation.

[Nihil]

34. "That's my president ... WHORE!!!"

Must admit, that was my second thought (the first was "You sad, sad girl").

[smallprint]

74. LOLOLLLLLLLL

:thumbsup:

[QC]

17. Too bad they can't return this gift to the store for a refund or exchange.

[RamboLiberal]

18. Trolling for votes - wish they'd have locked him on the plane

and let him serve out his TANG term in Iraq.

As it happens, the troops were given absentee ballots just before they departed, and there were still some undecided voters on board as Bush worked the crowd. "I'm still balancing the issues. I'm not sure," said David Spence of the 230th, a machinist, when asked about the election. "I'd like to hear what he has to say."

[Carolab]

22. Oh now that is just beyond the pale

I'm shocked he didn't have them signing loyalty oaths as well

[trueblew]

19. This is the next episode of PUNK'D

Now, was this really Schrub's idea?

[The_Casual_Observer]

23. That's my president, hooah!"

Good luck in Fallujah, keep his picture close to your heart.

[Carolab]

24. I wonder if the CIC

will be attending Wanda's funeral later this year?

[dennis4868]

25. "That's my president, hooah!"

when the car bombs are going off and you are running for your life because your whooooaa prez did not do any post war planning then lets see you go WHOOOOA THATS MY PREZ! hahahaha!

[FlemingsGhost]

28. Behold! Darwinism in all it's glory:

"That's my president, hooah!" shouted Sgt. Wanda Dabbs, a 22-year-old
member of the 230th Area Support Group, a Guard unit from Tennessee.
Others seconded her cheer."


If the critters next to you have the nerve to give the stink eye to the lions at the water hole, slowly back away. Dinner is served.

And although the herd has just been thinned, the species just got stronger.

[shrub chipper]

53. Sad, but true.

Remember the Republicans have to depend on dummies voting against their own self-interest.

[MUSTANG_2004]

70. Species just got stronger?

While putting yourself in harm's way definitely lowers the chance you'll have children, I prefer to think of a volunteer military as something other than a method to weed out the weaker of the species.

[FlemingsGhost]

72. Interesting how nature always finds a way, huh?

If one is obtuse enough to actually cheer the very criminal element whose greedy, self-serving lies (and deluded visions of grandeur) is responsible for sending them to their death, I can only conclude they are just smart enough to serve the purpose that, in the end, they are viewed to be: cannon fodder.

Tough to admit, but nature knows no motive. It just is ...

(edited for clarity)

[Kimber Scott]

29. Did he bring along a gift receipt, in case anybody wanted to exchange

him for someone else?

[Norquist Nemesis]

30. ROFL!!!

That's a good one!!!

[kodi]

31. when is he on the tarmac at dover waiting for the body bags to return?

.

[MagickMuffin]

32. Photo op

Was that an incoming plane or outgoing? Oh wait Bush wouldn't be caught dead on an incoming plane.
But miracles do happen when Bush thinks he can profit by posing for a photo op.
Will any of these soldiers be voting for him?
I doubt it....

[LibDemAlways]

33. Bush - the ultimate gag gift...

right up there with plastic dog shit and about as welcome.

[booksenkatz]

35. SERIOUS KICKAGE nt

[truthisfreedom]

36. gift of himself? he volunteered, for once?

never. he's a quitter.

[0007]

37. It went as planned.

Impromptu visit my ass!!

Bush - the ultimate gag master...
PUKE

[leftchick]

38. I don't see anyone smiling in this photo....

I mean NO ONE! Could the reporter possibly have exagerated *s reception?



US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) shakes hands with some of the 292 US soldiers aboard a charter jet at Bangor International Airport in Maine. Bush boarded the jet in an impromptu event shaking hands with all the soldiers before they flew to Iraq (news - web sites) to serve(AFP/Stephen Jaffe)

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

41. Wow, that picture does not mirror the story, at all

Far from the boisterous, cheering reception it implied. MKJ

[Child_Of_Isis]

44. That is not a happy bunch at all n/t

[DemonFighterLives]

47. Looks like some would sooner choke him

Of course, how could you hurt such a jokester as he smirks his way through the plane. Very Sad! His crotch doesn't appear as big as in the anal naviator costume.

[soup]

55. How many hands have I shaked?

impromptu transcrapt of impromptu speech impromptuiciously given at impromptu event:

We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression, while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace. I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind. It's not a dictatorship in Washington, but I tried to make it one in that instance. A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it.

I'm not the expert on how the Iraqi people think, because I live in America, where it's nice and safe and secure. I think war is a dangerous place. And I call upon the Iraqi people to reject violence, band together to insist that the country move toward a peaceful tomorrow. Iraq is changing for the better. I mean, look at the soccer team.

Before you went in, Iraqis were an oppressed people, and the dictator threatened his neighbors, the Middle East and the world. In Iraq, the regime of Saddam Hussein is no more. A month ago -- one month ago -- that country was a prison to its people, a haven for terrorists, an arsenal of weapons that endangered the world. Today, the Iraqis are liberated people, the former regime is gone, and our nation and the world is more secure. After all, this is a guy that tried to kill my dad at one time.

You see, it wasn't all that long ago that our tanks were in Baghdad. It may seem like a lot of time -- there's a lot on our TV screens -- but it wasn't all that long ago that the people got the first whiff of freedom. And we've got more work to do there. And we'll stay there until we rout them out. See, they think they can kind of hide in the countryside there in Afghanistan, and they may be able to hide for a day or two. They may be able to hide for a year. But it doesn't matter how long.

The world is more peaceful as a result of Saddam Hussein not being in power. Iraqis are sick of foreign people coming in their country and trying to destabilize their country. See, that's what you just have to know.

There are some who feel like, that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is "Bring 'em on!"

I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that the -- those who use terror as a tool are -- less acceptable in parts of the world.

There are a couple of cows waiting for me. You know, when I first got back from Washington, it seemed like the cows were talking back. But now that I've spent some time in Crawford, they're just cows.

I'm the commander -- see, I don't need to explain -- I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation.

God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear. God bless America.

-----
note: thanks to http://www.dubyaspeak.com/ for being the keeper of the quotes.

[kymar57]

76. LMAO

But "impromptuiciously" almost made me fall over:yourock:

[IA_Seth]

58. Yeah, but....

Regardless of who you support, if you are a soldier on that plane you have nothing to smile about.

If it were ME on that plane, this would be the worst possible thing to have happen. I would probably end up in a federal pen for telling him just what I think of his policies that are sending us to fight a war for him as he jumps back on his plane and decides who to smear next.

What a piece of shit.

[VegasWolf]

64. Notice the age of those guys-- the young ones are already dead! n/t

[skrunch]

71. "Oh Shit!...We're Doomed!"

They look like he's wearing a black cloak and carrying a scythe.

[pfitz59]

81. Look at all the gray hair!

How old are these soldiers anyway? Some appear older than Bush! Perhaps come Jan next year Shrub can make up his missing TANG time with a stint in Iraq!

[screembloodymurder]

39. "Go get em, boys."

Bush is nothing but a has been cheerleader, a "wantabe". He's still standing behind the lines, shielded from real battle, while issuing threats, mocking the enemy and cheering on the real warriors.

I wonder how these fresh troops will feel about "Go get em George" when they come home. A man of real courage would be meeting the families of those coming back in the coffins. The ones were not supposed to see.

[MaineDem]

40. "impromptu visit" my ass!

No freakin' way was this impromptu! Those transport planes come in to Bangor all the time. The campaign knew this, I'm convinced. This was just another photo op planned by the Rovinator to show how "compassionate" the little shit can be. :puke:

Edited to add: The soldiers must have already signed the "loyalty oath" because no one who hadn't sworn allegiance to * was allowed in to hear him speak.

[Mad_Dem_X]

48. "The Rovinator" - LOL!

I agree that this was just a set-up. * never does anything impromptu.

[Justice]

42. What would be appropriate

is for someone (perhaps DU) to follow the stories of this outfit over the next 45 days to see what happens to them.

The real story is whether Wanda Dabbs and others live to see the next 45 days.

[drscm]

43. Of course he is NOT there when they return in coffins... eom

eom

[trogdor]

45. One word

:puke:

[DFWJock]

49. Lets hope

this "gift" can be returned to Crawford in January.

[Dangerman]

57. Even better

To prison.

[tabasco]

50. REMFs For Bush!

I hope they all come back safe and sound.

[Jade Fox]

51. Let's see him greet some RETURNING troops....

Now that would be a different story.

[Rambis]

52. Two minutes in that hell hole

and you will be crying for your mommy not cheering for some asswipe in the white house. I hope you come back alive so you can vote for a democrat in 2008.

[Beetwasher]

54. I Hope They Kept The Receipt, That's One Gift I'd Definitely Return

No thanks fuckwad!

[GOPNotForMe]

56. That is almost word for word what I was going to say!

I hate having to fake liking a gift; this would be the WORST!

[Lisa]

60. Bush -- the "gift" that keeps taking!

My best wishes to the troops, for a safe return. (That's more than they're getting from him ...)

[VegasWolf]

61. Wonder if the in flight movie is F911??? n/t

[lightbulb]

68. LOL (eom)

[Az_lefty]

62. What gift?

the only meaningful gift he could have given would have been to cancel their orders.

[Judi Lynn]

65. The headline writer of this piece needs to retire.

That's not even sensible. Can you imagine a newspaper running that headline connected to Bill Clinton, or President Gore?

Where's the "gift" part? Going to Iraq? Being forced to stay there? Being forced to reinlist? I really don't get it.

[Barrett808]

69. "I'm willing to put wave after wave of men at your disposal. Right men?"

Zapp: You see, Killbots have a preset kill limit. Knowing their weakness, I sent wave after wave of my own men at them. Until they reached their limit and shutdown. Kif, show them the medal I won.

<Kif sighs and points to a medal on Zapp's uniform.>

...

Leela: Captain Brannigan, we really need to talk to you about our mission.

Zapp: Whatever it is, I'm willing to put wave after wave of men at your disposal. Right men?

<He raises his glass to the crew. No one acknowledges him.>

Crewman: You suck!

http://www.futurama-madhouse.com.ar/scripts/1acv04.shtml

[ignatius 2]

73. The master of the photo-op strikes again. Now if he would send the twins

to Iraq to bag body parts and if his callous wife would speak to mothers of dead soldiers and if he would atttend funerals of our children killed in his oil war, then he might have one ounce of credibility.

As is, just a dumb animal posing for pictures.

[MUSTANG_2004]

77. I read that he doesn't personally contact next of kin

Is that true? While most presidents didn't attend individual funerals, I think almost all called and/or wrote the parents or spouse.

[warrens]

75. I had a mental picture

Of a gangbang. Imagine my disappointment.

[Kierkegaard]

78. "That's my president, hooah!"

Yeah, but not for long buddy. At least have enough sense to fear for your safety at the hands of the idiot in chief.

[Malva Zebrina]

80. "That's my president, hooah!" shouted Sgt. Wanda Dabbs, a 22-year-old

member of the 230th Area Support Group, a Guard unit from Tennessee. Others seconded her cheer.

These are troops that have been in the Us and aware of what is going on in Iraq and presumably know the lies that have been told about Iraq?

I don't know, honestly, what to think about that.

[truthpusher]

84. Pitiful....

When I saw this I was so pissed off! Bush is using our troops, my troops, America’s Troops…. as a trophy. When I see him with our Soldiers and Service People I always get the feeling that he thinks that he owns them, that they work just for him! This is our Army, America’s Army not Bushes Army? Bush needs to start respecting the Troops and start treating them as America’s soldiers who deserve the respect that they have earned. These are young people who love their country enough to put there life on the line. Bushes actions are vile, pitiful and disrespectful.

I have been seeing ‘Support our Troops’ bumper stickers everywhere. I think it’s time to change that to ‘Respect our Troops’ instead. We need to respect them by telling them the truth. Bush is shaking the hands of these young folks thinking to himself ‘this will do it, when the American people see me doing this, they will surely see me as a great War President’ Do you realize that in a supposed ‘Time of War’ we never see bush directly addressing the soldiers by radio or TV directly like a real ‘War President’. When Kerry is in office I would expect Kerry to give at least a monthly radio address directly speaking to the Troops with respect, support and care. I would also expect Kerry to give the American People a monthly ‘State of the War’ address giving a realistic and truthful assessment of the goings on over there.


:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[Rose Siding]

85. Good to read you, TP

Welcome to DU :hi:

Regular addresses to deployed troops would be a nice gesture. I'd also like periodic policy updates. Just once, I'd like a US pres to come out on the WH lawn and jaw with reporters about what's in committee, what he/she is doing to push it through, what's holding it up and who we should call about it.