Now — just for a second… ok, for seven minutes — let’s put aside our various partisan opinions and just try to imagine how these troops felt on returning home on August 11. Those old guys, the veterans, forming the line are the ones I really appreciate. They are the only ones who know exactly how the younger troops feel.
37 comments
Thank you:
* Wick for posting
* All men and women in the military for serving our country
* W and Laura for being there to welcome home the troops
* Daryl Johnston for being in the background so I can enjoy your smokin’ hotness
W’s agenda and job performance can be questioned…no doubt. His caring heart cannot.
Just curious and not being snarky. What was Mr. Bush palming and handing out when he shook hands? I couldn’t tell from the video.
My family went to pick up my brother in law a few months ago when he got home from his second tour in Iraq. I can tell you that I never would have taken the time to go to DFW and welcome home the troops if it weren’t for him due to laziness or selfishness. However, I would suggest everyone go at least once. It was one of the most moving moments of my life. It is an incredible thing to watch the soldiers come through the door and see everyone’s appreciation and gratitude for a true sacrifice.
@Chris Chris. my guess is a coin with the presidential seal or noting his former rank as Commander in Chief. A cool, but not well known tradition surrounds the coins that is best explained by example. When military personnel have a round of drinks in a bar, on a plane, etc. with other soldiers, any one can decide that they show coins. Whomever has the lowest ranking coin buys. Inotherwords, if it is indeed a coin President Bush is passing to the soldiers, these guys will get a lot of free drinks.
Was wondering the same thing about the coins.
I think Mr. Bush looks great – happy and relaxed..good for him.
Wick says we should “put aside our various partisan opinions” and show our appreciation for the scene of George W. Bush greeting our returning soldiers. Sure they’re happy. Happy to be home, thankfully.
But that man should be nowhere near them. Bush’s folly — the invasion of Iraq in response to 9/11 — is squarely to blame for a tragic and unnecessary human cost: more than 4,000 of our uniformed men and women killed, 30,000-50,000 more permanently maimed, untold lives and families destroyed. That’s reality, not a partisan opinion.
His greeting of the survivors, after the fact, is just plain garish. Talk about chutzpah.
@someone, you’re right. Bush indeed looks “happy and relaxed.” As Cowboy great Blaine Nye famously said of backup QB Clint Longley, “the triumph of an uncluttered mind.”
Another, even more important, result of the Bush administration is a fledgling, struggling democratic government in Iraq, after the elimination there of a brutal, murderous dictator; the second democracy in the Middle East; as well as the hampering — at least temporarily — of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
……
The Afghan and Iraq missions were *not* folly. They were important military missions in pursuit, ultimately, of freedom and liberty.
……
We can only hope that this nation’s current President wisely deals with the very horrific threat that now is about to be Iran; this current administration has been egregiously ineffective on that, up to now. And meanwhile, the Bush-haters continue to enjoy fighting the VietNam war, so to speak, in modern times.
This is a very moving experience if you haven’t been and really speaks to GWB’s character. @Jackson is just irritated that the troops were unbelievably appreciative of his great gesture of thanks, but thanks for the partisan opinion.
@jackson – can’t you just put aside your differences and look at him as a person who is doing something nice for others and looks genuinely happy to be there to thank these men and women for what they have just been through..geez people I know he was our president and some of you disagreed with what he did but get over it..he’s still just a person like the rest of us.
Maybe @jackson should go down there and greet the troops
Reader,
You’re delusional.
You seriously think we are “hampering” the Taliban? You should get your news from someplace other than Fox.
Actually an excellent source for info is the Aljazeera news site. It’s definitely a contrast to Fox.
Well said, Jackson.
He should send the twins if it’s such a great cause.
And to Someone,
Bush is responsible for the totally unnecessary war in Iraq. Even he admits there were no WMD. He had to continually spin it until he found an excuse for invasion that he felt comfortable with – that “we are bringing democracy to Iraq.” After much thought, I feel the reason he took us into Iraq was to give the U.S. a military presence in the Middle East to protect “our” oil interests. Even after our troops are officially out of Iraq, there will still be 50,000 American troops in hardened bases.
The thought of Bush greeting the troops gives me the creeps.
Jackson=Buzz Kill. I bet you’re the type who likes to gritch about someone trampling on your rights too. Bawls, Jackson. Grow a pair.
“His caring heart cannot.”
200,000+ dead Iraqi civilians and 2.5+ millions Iraqi refugees would disagree.
What kind of heart does it take to order US Troops to torture prisoners? Then lie about it, then later brag about ordering torture?
None of his family thought the war was important enough to fight.
Thirty minutes of hand shakes does not excuse lies, incompetence, profiteering by his cronies, and America’s worst foreign policy disaster ever.
Torture says more about Bush’s character than a cynical photo op.
I believe people (troops in this case) have always mattered to our former president and first lady. I appreciate their focus and applaud the effort to get people to DFW to greet the troops. Thanks, Wick, for posting.
@reader, I didn’t say Afghanistan was folly. I didn’t even bring up Afghanistan. But now that you mention it, what a pity Bush & co basically abandoned Afghanistan and the search for bin Laden in March 2003, after briefly moving the rocks around with aerial bombing. Afghanistan was just for show, as we ultimately learned. The real goal was to overthrow Iraq, which had zero involvement with the 9/11 attack on our country. As for Afghanistan, the Taliban recalibrated and re-formed itself in the ensuing six years of Bush abandonment. It’s why we’re stuck in that quagmire today. And you’re suggesting we now engage in yet another military overthrow and occupation of a huge Middle Eastern country, Iran?
@someone, you write that maybe I should “go down there and greet the troops.” By “down there” I guess you mean DFW airport. Not necessary. I live in both Dallas and Austin. In Austin, I’m mere blocks away from Camp Mabry in the middle of town, the headquarters and home base of what’s known as all “Texas military forces.” Since 9/11, this base has moved our own national guard troops — and other units from Killeen’s Fort Hood — in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. For almost nine years now, at the Starbucks, the grocery store, the gas station, I’ve personally thanked soldiers for their service, and I do it on a daily or weekly basis. You’ll have to get in line behind me.
George W. Bush: a class act.
While it WAS a moving video, and I applaud W for having the cojones to show up at DFW, he’s the one who sent them off on a fool’s errand. You can’t change the facts — no WMDs, no Al Qaeda/Iraq connection, our voracious appetite for oil, Cheney’s energy policy task force . . . voila! WAR! Let’s hope that W continues to support our returning troops and mitigate some of the damage he did. Atonement, anyone?
As usual, a handful of haters can’t simply “put aside our various partisan opinions” as requested at the start of this post and enjoy a video showing the heartfelt greeting our soldiers received. Shame on you.
nothing like jackson and grumpdemo to p*ss on something good. they would probably find fault with anything that Dubya does these days.. it would probably kill them both to say anything nice. with that in mind why not follow the advice my mother gave me years ago…. “if you can’t say something nice then don’t say anything.”
what i find most interesting is that I hadn’t even seen any reporting on MSM about this event, first saw about it came via a blog post then it was posted up on FB and it took awhile for Frontburner, Unfair Park an DMN to post anything
man imagine the images if POTUS and TOTUS had been there (and we all know POTUS can’t say anything clearly without his good bud TOTUS standing beside him)
W and Laura : Class act very heart warmimg…
Thanks to the troops for keeping us safe…..
Awesome video!!! Welcoming home troops – especially one’s own son (as we did twice from Iraq) is an experience words cannot describe – only one’s heart & soul can do that!!!
George & Laura Bush are great people with huge hearts – thanks you 2!! THANK YOU TROOPS & YOUR FAMILIES – THANK YOU FOR FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM & THE USA!!
WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!
oh, by the way…are there any videos of our present president welcoming home troops like this ?? !!
No. Just some footage of him greeting the dead.
George W. has always used the troops as backdrops and props. They are well disciplined, orderly and respect the Commander in Chief. We all should honor our men and women in uniform. I’m old enough to remember his prancing on a flight deck under a “Mission Accomplished” banner. A percentage of folks get all goose-pimply at these images oh him. Others are deeply disturbed at George W.’s glorying in his hugely bad decisions.
@Wick: Asking the FrontBurner commentariot to “put aside…partisan opinions” in a post about Laura and George Bush is like asking Beavis and Butthead to not snicker after someone mentions “President Bush.” They simply cannot help themselves. In Beavis and Butthead’s defense, however, they are fictional adolescents.
An Honorable President and 1st Lady! He’s at home with these guys, no doubt… as they truly enjoyed seeing him there to greet them home!
“And in the end God will blind the eyes of the unbelievers and the foolish’; no use trying to convince them otherwise. I say this knowing Beda, @jackson, and Grumpy demo
(is there any other kind?) will have their arrows, but ya’ see: I DONT CARE.
PEACE–NOW 2010
Be patient with Jackson and Grumpy Demo. Spreading hate is their purpose in life. They are, after all, victims who are suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS). Normal Americans watch this video and feel pride in our troops and our country. Normal Americans have a sense of decorum and undertand that this is about the troops and our debt to their noble service. And normal Americans see our former president and applaud his presence at the airport, knowing how much it meant to those troops to be greeted by their former Commander in Chief.
But BDS Leftists are incapable of normal feelings of gratitude or patriotism or decorum. Their world is upside down — good is bad, right is wrong, America is evil, abortion is “choice”, generational welfare is “compassion”, etc. From the comfort of their mothers’ basements these BDS Leftists have worked out the “truth” of our military involvement in Iraq and Aphganistan, and are never averse to rewriting history toward their ends.
Leftists hate this country, have always hated this country, and hate the very idea of people loving this counry. Forty years ago they were spitting on our returning troops. Today they’re a little slicker in their propaganda — now they “support the troops” but hate the mission, as if that’s possible.
God bless our troops, and God bless President George W. Bush.
Very well stated, Shakespeare.
I’m a Marine mom and if I could, I’d thank George and Laura personally. Their quiet, ongoing respect for and committment to our men and women in uniform, and their families, is very much appreciated.
Just a quick question about why W’s appearances these days are always “surprise.” Is he concerned about protesters? Safety? Surely our DFW terminals are secure . . .
His appearances at local elementary schools, churches, and even neighborhood (Highland Park) affairs seem mostly to be unannounced and highly scripted/orchestrated. This is according to my neighbors who contributed to and supported him in both elections. Why’s he so afraid of his neighbors and/or former supporters? It seems weird that Obama’s recent foray into south Highland Park (as well as the address) was announced in the local press at least 2 weeks before he arrived. WHY’S DUB AFRAID OF THE LOCALS? We may be indignant but we don’t bite.
Perhaps they are very humble people whom do not want a lot of ‘hoopla, band playing announcements’….rather just pay thier respects in doing things that are right and good. After all, they brought this Nation closer to God than anyone has in a long time.
I agree, Brooke. This nation nearly met its maker under W and Company’s guidance. Praise God for “thier” leadership.
I’ thank George for welcoming our troups. As for Jackson, do you know that we have NOT been attacked since! GW Bush said when we responded to 9/11 that we can fight on their soil or ours, I beleive as 98% of the Americans just after 9/11 that we should fight on their turf. Its was, still and always be the smart thing to do…
Hoo-Ah! Mr President, please come back. All you haters out there, get over yourself. Most of you aren’t fit to be in the same room with men of his and the soldiers caliber. Take it from me, an ex soldier…..WE LOVE HIM, and you make us sick.
Um, I know this thread is really old, but I have to wonder… how come I’m a “hater” if I have an opinion different from yours? And then I’m told my different opinion makes you sick, that I hate my country… Really? Dissent is what did and will continue to make this country great. Do you really want to live where people can’t have different viewpoints/opinions – especially about their government! I can see warmth and caring in this gesture by the Bushs, but also remember that we went into this wrong war on false pretenses, with untold human (not to mention budgetary!) cost. That does not make me a hater. Please try to stop seeing those who think differently as “the enemy.” This is tearing out country apart!