This tribute will remain a ’sticky post’, above all others until Tuesday 9-12

Updated below 

Robert William  McPadden, 30, Pearl River, N.Y.

Firefighter, New York Fire Department

 Confirmed dead, World Trade Center, at/in building

Robert McPadden liked to be tested. He did not wait to see if he could withstand challenges — he sought them out.

He liked comparing his personal favorites to the critics’ Top 10 lists. He was so good at "Jeopardy!" that other firefighters thought he was watching reruns of shows he had seen. He was confident enough to marry a woman almost as tall as he and as much of an athlete: when Kate and Bob McPadden played one-on-one basketball, he won the scrambles, she beat him on the foul line.

Could he best his late father, a New York fire lieutenant? For years, he waited to be accepted into the department and dreamed of making captain.

Confident, yes; attitude, no: Although Firefighter McPadden, 30, had a master’s degree in criminal justice, as a new member of the crew he happily peeled potatoes, washed dishes and led schoolchildren around Engine Company 23 in Manhattan, saying: "Hi! I’m Fireman Bob!"

Last summer was truly his championship season. He hit the tying run that helped Engine Company 38 win the Bronx title. His young marriage glowed. Kate and he were a day away from moving to Pearl River, N.Y., near his mother and siblings. So excited was Firefighter McPadden about life that he would shout, "We won, Kate, we won!"

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on January 22, 2002.

 Firefighter Followed in Father’s Footsteps

April 12, 2002

Earning a graduate degree in criminal justice, Robert McPadden could have almost immediately become a New York City police officer but — in honor of his late father, who was a New York City firefighter — he preferred to wait until there was a civil service opening to become a firefighter.

I am watching Pathway tonight.

Why?  Because the Democrats tell me not to.

The question of the hour is:  Is it biased against Clinton unfairly?  In order to be so, it must falsely give the impression that Clinton was inept and did not miss chances to get Bin Ladin.

But…

Is that untrue?  Or, is there other documented proof that Clinton had a chance to get Osama and did not, as the movie suggests?  If so, then the Demoratic complaints are just a smoke screen to protect the reputation of their ideal president.

You decide.  Courtesy of Sister Toldjah and Ann Althouse , here are some clips and testimonies to consider.  And please note that the movie does not paint Bush any better.   But the left is only concerned with Clinton’s reputation. 

They claim they want to protect the truth.  The truth is, they are afraid of it.

First up, the Main Stram Media and Clinton’s record on OBL:

Next, Clinton damned by is own words, though he would later claim this was a misquote.

Micheal Schuer, the CIA operative mentioned in the 9-11 Commission’s report (named “Mike”) says in this video:

“His [OBL’s] innards, sir, should be splattered all over the desert of southern Afghanistan. There’s no reason why Osama bin Laden is alive today except President Clinton and his national security advisors refused to press the button.”

And finally, Col. Buzz Patterson, USAF Retired, and carrier of the ‘nuclear football’ during the Clinton admin from 1996-1998, from his book Dereliction of Duty via Flopping Aces:

The White House Situation Room was buzzing. It was fall 1998 and the National Security Council (NSC) and the “intelligence community” were tracking the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the shadowy mastermind of terrorist attacks on American targets overseas. “They’ve successfully triangulated his location,” yelled a “sit Room” watch stander. We’ve got him.”

Beneath the West Wing of the White House, behind a vaulted steel door, the Sit Room staff sprang into action. The watch officer notified National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, “Sir, we’ve located bin Laden. We have a two-hour window to strike.”