Deconstructing the spin and lies line by line. From an ass kissing reporter at the LA Times:
Bottom line after reading this, if I were in the military, I would think that all this attention was like taking the kid with cancer to Disney World one last time.As he leaves the Capitol after taking the oath of office Jan. 20, President Bush is expected to exercise a familiar presidential prerogative - reviewing the troops.
Then the real embrace of the military begins. Rob's Note: I have an idea for an embrace - how about some f'ing armor for the Humvees and fuel trucks.
Bush, who campaigned for reelection as a wartime president, will have more than the usual military flourishes at his second-term inaugural ceremonies.
With 138,000 U.S. troops serving in Iraq and casualties reported nearly every day, the White House wanted to showcase the role of the armed services in the war against terrorism as well as in the nation's premier display of a peaceful transition of power. Rob's Note: This is the White House spin in action. Using the military as a prop in the inauguration has NOTHING to do with the war on terror and everything to do with trying to give the President a mandate to use the troops even more. It's entirely a mechanism to make him look like they support him whether they do or not.
--snip-- (he is letting the military have their own ball - he'll do a drop by and then go off and party with the oil buddies.)
"The fact that we're a nation at war will be reflected throughout the inaugural," said Tracey Schmitt, a spokeswoman for the inaugural committee. "This is a way to pay tribute to those who sacrifice every day for the security of our country. We are working to celebrate the hard work of men and women of our military." Rob's Note: It's a way to do nothing that actually helps the troops but looks really hard like he's trying. This quote is just utter spin.
Bush's use of the military as part of his inauguration is hardly new. When George Washington traveled from Mount Vernon, his Virginia estate, to New York City for his inauguration, he was accompanied by local militias on his journey - and members of the Continental Army escorted him to Federal Hall on Wall Street, where he took the oath of office on April 30, 1789. Rob's Note: Oh yeah, Bush is like George Washington (who actually fought in a war) - this reporter's nose is so far up the White House's a-hole it's repulsive.
-- snip -- (Nixon used a 21 gun salute during Vietnam so that's supposed to be cover for this North Korea style crap.)
Bush's emphasis on the military during the inauguration rankles some who reminisce about Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1945 ceremony, which he moved to the White House for the only time in history - in part because of ill health and in part to tamp down the gaiety of an inaugural while the nation was at war.
Bush defenders note that given the sacrifices made daily by military personnel, it would be difficult for the White House not to make the armed services a centerpiece in the ceremonies and the celebration.
"I don't see how the military can but be a big part of the inaugural," said Victoria Clarke, former assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs. "Even people who adamantly oppose the war respect what people in uniform are doing. This is a way to show our appreciation."Rob's Note: Read the last two paragraphs again and see if you can tell me even a nugget of truth in them. Using troops as props is now somehow showing appreciation? Bush shouldn't be "reviewing the troops", he should be apologizing for not giving them what they need to do the crap ass job he gave them to do in the first place.
Military personnel themselves seemed pleased by the attention.
"For us to work on this is an honor and privilege because so many of our brothers and sisters are not here," said Navy Capt. Curtis Reilly, spokesman for the Joint Task Force-Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, which began work on the plans long before the president was reelected. Rob's Note: I'd be willing to bet that Curtis is just happy his ass isn't in Fallujah.
