It's interesting to see how Bush has wasted no time jumping on the Reagan death as a potential political boost yet he still can not find time to visit services for those who have fought and died for his wars. I guess it's just bad PR or something. Other chief executives believe that showing respects for the soldiers who have died is important but Bush is unable to even personalize his responses.
"Gov. Mark Sanford, Republican of South Carolina, a captain in the Air Force Reserve, who said he attended as many funerals as possible, said he tried to separate the politics of the war from his desire to honor the dead.
"Some folks are against the war, some are for it," he said. "What you're trying to do is not get involved in that debate but to honor the individual. Your presence goes with the role of chief executive."
Kathy Brown of Glens Falls, N.Y., whose son, Nathan, 21, was killed in Iraq on April 11, said she would have liked Mr. Pataki to have attended her son's funeral but understood he was busy. Still, she said, Mr. Pataki called "out of the blue" and spoke to her husband, Ricky, for several minutes. "We were pleased," she said.
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."
