I have a large pile of issues where I disagree with our President, and I make no secret of those. 

But when it comes to him performing the (in my opinion) most important aspect of his office, that of Commander in Chief, he has never let me down in my expectations, and this Washington Times article demonstrates clearly why I feel that way.

Bush, Cheney comforted troops privately

For much of the past seven years, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have waged a clandestine operation inside the White House. It has involved thousands of military personnel, private presidential letters and meetings that were kept off their public calendars or sometimes left the news media in the dark.

Their mission: to comfort the families of soldiers who died fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and to lift the spirits of those wounded in the service of their country.

…

“People say, ‘Why would you do that?’” the president said in an Oval Office interview with The Washington Times on Friday. “And the answer is: This is my duty. The president is commander in chief, but the president is often comforter in chief, as well. It is my duty to be - to try to comfort as best as I humanly can a loved one who is in anguish.”

Mr. Bush, for instance, has sent personal letters to the families of every one of the more than 4,000 troops who have died in the two wars, an enormous personal effort that consumed hours of his time and escaped public notice. The task, along with meeting family members of troops killed in action, has been so wrenching - balancing the anger, grief and pride of families coping with the loss symbolized by a flag-draped coffin - that the president often leaned on his wife, Laura, for emotional support.

… 

Mr. Cheney similarly has hosted numerous events, even sneaked away from the White House or his Naval Observatory home to meet troops at hospitals or elsewhere without a hint to the news media.

…

The vice president, who has been derided in the media as “Darth Vader,” also has operated outside of the limelight to support wounded troops and their families even though he could have made political hay if he had made them public. He and his wife have hosted wounded troops and their families at his residence at the Naval Observatory, arranging for big-name country singers, such as Charlie Daniels and Sara Evans, to provide entertainment.

Not all of their meetings were private of course.  Some, like the ill fated meeting between Bush and Cindy Sheehan was turned into political fodder by her and the liberals who support her.

I am sure we will, with this revelation, be flooded with the liberal editorials of how this is just Bush absolving his guilt for putting us into a lie fed war.

They are right and wrong.  Yes, he feels responsible for every death, but that is not because of  guilt for lying, it is because of executive responsibility, because he accepts the fact that he is ultimately responsible by the nature of his office.  They can dismiss it if they choose, but if anything it shows he understands far more intimately then any other president of our lifetime just what the title Commander in Chief means

And I find it interesting that in an age where politicians are experienced media whores, and the media itself a willing tool to such “presstitution,” the guy who could likely have used this to shore up a lot of lagging poll numbers, instead chose the path of respect and privacy.

That’s why Bush and Cheney have a much higher respect of the American Military (and this blogger).  The Military feels the respect from them that is so lacking in Democrats and Liberals, and they in turn respect them for their true acceptance of the consequences and responsibility that their decisions entail.

The decision to take the country to war has been the one thing that Bush has never wavered on, not in the slightest, and the Military understands the need and necessity of that decision.

While I disagree with the President on Immigration the financial bailout, the economy and many other areas, the Military is one area he has never lost my support, as the Military is one of my highest priorities.

He has over the last 8 years consistently shown real compassion and caring for his troops.  He responds to them as a real person would, not a politician. 

(Note:  This is the same sense of “realness” that attracted so many to Sarah Palin)

Not like the faux support so prevalent in the Democrats, nor the hostility so close to the surface in the Nutroots Liberals.

Barack would do well to take a page from GWB’s book and start thinking of the Military as a group of people, real people who are determined and ready to fight.

Not just as numbers on a Pentagon report, or the tools in a campaign.  Or as the props in a photo op, like Bill Clinton.

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