Why aren't the Bush daughters in Iraq?
The president's family has set an appallingly bad example for wartime sacrifice.
By Kitty Kelley
KITTY KELLEY, who wrote "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty," is working on a biography of Oprah Winfrey.
LA Times
March 19, 2007
WHEN I WAS a little girl in a convent school, the nuns impressed on me the power of setting a good example. These beloved teachers are no longer around to instruct the president and his family, so I recommend that the Bushes learn from Mark Twain, who said: "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
My suggestion comes after the White House announcement earlier this month that Jenna Bush, one of the president's twin daughters, is writing a book on her all-expenses-paid trip to Panama, where she worked for a few weeks as an intern for UNICEF. Jenna Bush is quoted as saying she will donate her earnings from her book to UNICEF, a commendable gesture, considering her father's net worth of $20 million. But while the 25-year-old makes the rounds of TV talk shows this fall in a White House limousine, dozens of her contemporaries will be arriving home from Iraq in wooden boxes. In Britain, Prince Harry is insisting on going off to Iraq — even as his country is reducing its troop commitment.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt showed how the power of good example could also be powerfully good politics. When he led the country to sacrifice in World War II, his children enlisted and his wife traveled to military bases to counsel and comfort the families of soldiers. Newsreels showed the president's four sons fighting with the Marines in the Pacific, flying with the Army Air Forces in North Africa and landing with the Navy at Normandy. Soon other public figures followed suit — movie stars (James Stewart and Clark Gable) enlisted and sports heroes (Joe DiMaggio and Hank Greenberg) went off to war.
(Continued here.)
By Kitty Kelley
KITTY KELLEY, who wrote "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty," is working on a biography of Oprah Winfrey.
LA Times
March 19, 2007
WHEN I WAS a little girl in a convent school, the nuns impressed on me the power of setting a good example. These beloved teachers are no longer around to instruct the president and his family, so I recommend that the Bushes learn from Mark Twain, who said: "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
My suggestion comes after the White House announcement earlier this month that Jenna Bush, one of the president's twin daughters, is writing a book on her all-expenses-paid trip to Panama, where she worked for a few weeks as an intern for UNICEF. Jenna Bush is quoted as saying she will donate her earnings from her book to UNICEF, a commendable gesture, considering her father's net worth of $20 million. But while the 25-year-old makes the rounds of TV talk shows this fall in a White House limousine, dozens of her contemporaries will be arriving home from Iraq in wooden boxes. In Britain, Prince Harry is insisting on going off to Iraq — even as his country is reducing its troop commitment.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt showed how the power of good example could also be powerfully good politics. When he led the country to sacrifice in World War II, his children enlisted and his wife traveled to military bases to counsel and comfort the families of soldiers. Newsreels showed the president's four sons fighting with the Marines in the Pacific, flying with the Army Air Forces in North Africa and landing with the Navy at Normandy. Soon other public figures followed suit — movie stars (James Stewart and Clark Gable) enlisted and sports heroes (Joe DiMaggio and Hank Greenberg) went off to war.
(Continued here.)
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2 Comments:
Are the Bush Twins just the poster child for this question ?
Why should we be surprised that no member of the Bush clan has served when the question is phrased how to lead by example … remember … GWB kept Texas airspace safe during Vietnam.
Is this really atypical … during Vietnam, roughly 28 sons of Congressmen served in Vietnam ( Al Gore was there). But no relative died.
Isn’t John McCain’s son destined for Iraq? Haven’t Sen. Tim Johnson and Kit Bond’s sons served in Iraq? John Kline’s son has done at least one tour and at least two more from the House. Max Baucus’s nephew was killed, but that is the only one I remember.
But who are the others ? Are there other ways to serve? Would we have heard about the conditions of our military hospitals sooner if a spouse/child/relative had done something more than a “glad hand” “meet, greet and thank” mission ?
Is it fair to ask about Jacob or Sarah Coleman’s plans ? Was Bachmann asked during her campaign about the feelings/plans of her five children and other foster children?
Are the Bush Twins just the poster child for this question ?
Why should we be surprised that no member of the Bush clan has served when the question is phrased how to lead by example … remember … GWB kept Texas airspace safe during Vietnam.
Is this really atypical … during Vietnam, roughly 28 sons of Congressmen served in Vietnam ( Al Gore was there). But no relative died.
Isn’t John McCain’s son destined for Iraq? Haven’t Sen. Tim Johnson and Kit Bond’s sons served in Iraq? John Kline’s son has done at least one tour and at least two more from the House. Max Baucus’s nephew was killed, but that is the only one I remember.
But who are the others ? Are there other ways to serve? Would we have heard about the conditions of our military hospitals sooner if a spouse/child/relative had done something more than a “glad hand” “meet, greet and thank” mission ?
Is it fair to ask about Jacob or Sarah Coleman’s plans ? Was Bachmann asked during her campaign about the feelings/plans of her five children and other foster children?
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