Sustainable Democracy

I read an interesting report at Think Progress about more comments on the war by President Bush. The comments are not about why we should stay the course, or even about how Iraq is connected to terrorists, this time they were about how he wished he could serve in Iraq.

The Washington Post’s Dan Froomkin highlights comments made recently by President Bush to a group of military bloggers. Blogger “N.Z. Bear” reported that Bush told the group he wishes he could be serving in Iraq — except that he’s too old:

Responding to one of the bloggers in Iraq he expressed envy that they could be there, and said he’d like to be there but “One, I’m too old to be out there, and two, they would notice me.”

Dan Froomkin also noted that Bush’s total time spent in Iraq seems to go against his statements of really wanting to have fun in the desert.

Maybe Bush was just making idle chit-chat. But this would not be the first time the president has appeared unaware of the hardships his war has caused hundreds of thousands of American troops — while expressing a misguided sense of bravado.

He certainly hasn’t ever put himself in harm’s way. The president who avoided serving in Vietnam as a young man has made only three visits to Iraq since declaring that major combat operations were over more than four years ago. All three of the visits were unannounced and featured extensive security. Bush’s total time in country? Less than 15 hours.

So, the man who would really like to volunteer himself to serve in Iraq - except for being old and noticeable - has spent 15 hours in Iraq over four years. Now there are certainly a number of security concerns with any president being in or near a combat zone, but you should never say “Sure wish I was there” when your actions clearly show the opposite. Luckily Laura Bush has made sure that the President is not alone in saying dumb things. Laura had this to say:

“…no one suffers more than their President and I do.”
From Anne Curry on the Today Show

Certainly making hard decisions and being alone in having to make them can weigh on a person. The stress of managing a war and angry public opinion can also put stress on a family. However, a bit of stress and actually being in Iraq for a year or more, or losing a family member might just rank higher. The many disabled veterans of this conflict could probably also give some keen insight on what suffering can mean.

No matter what position of power you are in, don’t say things to try to make yourself seem like a big tough braggart. The only thing you end up doing is being only a braggart, and not actually being tough at all.