[QUOTE=The King of Soup]
…C-plus Augustus*…
[/QUOTE]
Forgot. The * is for the coiner of this epithet, Charlie Pierce of the Boston Globe, who is also really funny on NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto]
It is possible to have more than one copy of a medal. I can go and buy copies of every single one that I have earned from retailers that specialize in this service, and military exchange uniform supply stores also carry them, as well as services for mounting them for dress uniform wear, mess uniform wear, and the like.
[/QUOTE]
This doesn’t really answer the question, though.
I imagine that he gave away a real medal (be it the original or a copy) rather than a cluster (or star if he was in the Navy or Marines – I don’t know what branch he was in).
The difference, as even you must realize, is that Kerry was making a political statement with medals he himself had earned. The equivalent would be if Kerry had taken the Purple Heart off another soldier’s uniform and throw that medal into the river.
The whole point of a medal is that the recipient earned it. Politicians who accept medals that they haven’t earned trivialize the actions of the true recipients.
[QUOTE=Martin Hyde]
As I said, I certainly hope that’s what happens (although I’d still prefer he turn it down.) The general tone of the article, the fact that the veteran wrote up a citation that he passed on to his congressional rep who then passed it on to Bush who then invited the veteran to the White House to present the award to Bush is what makes me infer that isn’t happening.
This is the single news article available at present on this whole event, so I’m not ready to get married to any single interpretation, but just based on this single article (which is all we have at the moment, maybe it’s all we’ll ever have) I interpreted it the way I did.
[/QUOTE]
Fair enough. I agree with you completely.
Doing a Google News search I found this related piece.
Look for George W. Bush Is a Wounded Iraq War Veteran… In His Soul
He conjectures:
[QUOTE=David Weigel]
I see no reference of this on the White House site or in any local news reports, so I assume it was cancelled when Cho Seung-Hui started pulling his trigger. Such was the tragedy of the Virginia Tech massacre: It denied George W. Bush his chance to become a hero.
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=What Exit?]
Oh silly me, but that of course is pertinent to every discussing of Bush, isn’t it?
[/QUOTE]
That’s called a “whoosh”, son.
Seriously Shodan, what exactly does John Kerry have to do with any of this?
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar]
That’s called a “whoosh”, son.
Seriously Shodan, what exactly does John Kerry have to do with any of this?
[/QUOTE]
Of course it was, and that was a joke right back to the pitcher.
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar]
That’s called a “whoosh”, son.
Seriously Shodan, what exactly does John Kerry have to do with any of this?
[/QUOTE]
I predict deafening silence from Shodan on this point, although he may stick his head back into the thread on some other, minor, snarking point.
That’s just the way he rolls.
[QUOTE=Slithy Tove]
This links to a photo of LBJ listening to a tape recording of an officer describing a recent combat action. I’ve often wondered if GWB ever reacts in this way. Or, even if he does receive such reports, if he’s left alone to absorb them, or is always surrounded by his team and they are preoccupied with “hey - we can really use this!”
I think it’s just a big game of Dungeons & Dragons to this guy, so playing dress-up with flight suits and other people’s medals is all part of the fun.
[/QUOTE]
I think that’s the essential difference between Bush and any other occupant of the White House- Bush is incapable of any self-doubt or remorse. The Vietnam war took a lot out of LBJ and one can very easily picture him as shown in your link on a frequent basis during the latter part of his term. I cannot for an instant imagine Bush having one second of reflection on anything he does- whatever he does is by definition right so there’s no room for brooding.
[QUOTE=BobLibDem]
I think that’s the essential difference between Bush and any other occupant of the White House- Bush is incapable of any self-doubt or remorse. The Vietnam war took a lot out of LBJ and one can very easily picture him as shown in your link on a frequent basis during the latter part of his term. I cannot for an instant imagine Bush having one second of reflection on anything he does- whatever he does is by definition right so there’s no room for brooding.
[/QUOTE]
I believe your preconceptions of Bush are causing you to reject events and accounts that do not jibe with your opinions of him.
Everything I’ve heard about his private meetings with the families of slain soldiers indicates that he takes the whole matter very personally, and that the decisions were indeed hard on him.
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto]
I believe your preconceptions of Bush are causing you to reject events and accounts that do not jibe with your opinions of him.
Everything I’ve heard about his private meetings with the families of slain soldiers indicates that he takes the whole matter very personally, and that the decisions were indeed hard on him.
[/QUOTE]
Uh…are you asserting BobLibDem should know what goes on in private meetings with families, but is rejecting those accounts?
How would any public citizen form an opinion based on private meetings the President had with other people?
Wouldn’t public knowledge of any detailed accounts of these private meetings make them necessarily public?
I apologize for being picky, but a classic game of con men is to claim secret insider knowledge that conflicts with public appearances.
Sailboat
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto]
I believe your preconceptions of Bush are causing you to reject events and accounts that do not jibe with your opinions of him.
Everything I’ve heard about his private meetings with the families of slain soldiers indicates that he takes the whole matter very personally, and that the decisions were indeed hard on him.
[/QUOTE]
There is also a difference between taking something personally and strugggling over a decision and regreting or doubting the decision you made.
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto]
Everything I’ve heard about his private meetings with the families of slain soldiers indicates that he takes the whole matter very personally, and that the decisions were indeed hard on him.
[/QUOTE]
He is a used car salesman who is very good at giving a false impression to people. His smirky “nope, no WMD here” jokes expose for what it is the manufactured sympathy with which he cloaks himself when necessary.
[QUOTE=Shodan]
I wonder what John Kerry thinks of someone making a political statement with military decorations.
[/QUOTE]
I wonder if a robot would contribute more to these discussions than you do.
You know, some people – military people – take this issue more seriously.
Sailboat
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto]
Everything I’ve heard about his private meetings with the families of slain soldiers indicates that he takes the whole matter very personally, and that the decisions were indeed hard on him.
[/QUOTE]
You mean like his meeting with Cindy Sheehan?
I’m sure he’s appropriately smarmy when he meets with politically supportive survivors of dead soldiers, but the all of his actions in Iraq belie any suggestion that he actually cares. It’s not about making tough decisions with a heavy heart. There was no necessity to go into Iraq and there is no necessity to stay there. Every soldier who dies there is dying purely at his whim. His decisions are a hell of a lot harder on the lives and families of his troops and of the Iraqi people than they are on GWB. His “hard decisions” have been nothing more than to elevate his ego above human life.
These meetings are very private, very somber affairs that The Leader is firmly opposed to publicizing, lest he be seen as exploiting the sorrow of families for his own political gain. He is very reserved about his feelings, and they are known to only a few hundred thousand of his very close, very personal friends.
Honestly, I think there is just too little to go on in the story to make any conclusion one way or the other about whether it was appropriately handled or not.
When I posted a link to this in margin’s I pit the VA thread, my disgust and outrage over his accepting a Purple Heart because he got his widdle fewwings hurt was beyond any sort of negative feelings I’ve had about this miscarriage of a Presidency.
He sends his own countrymen on a wild goose chase to die, scrounging in the garbage for proper armour and when they come home broken he either wants to send them back in to break some more or denies them basic medical services. When an actual vet runs against him for President, he has his supporters come to his convention with purple band aids to show their contempt for a man who actually served and didn’t spend his time AWOL and drunk.
What a piece of shit for a president we have.
[QUOTE=chowder]
One other question tho’. When a second award is given this usually takes the form of a bar to the first award.This bar is worn on the medal ribbon of the first award. Does this procedure not apply to the PH?
[/QUOTE]
Each time a person qualifies for a Purple Heart, they are awarded the medal. The recipient is authorized to wear each individual Purple Heart Medal, if they so choose. Or, the recipient can wear just one Purple Heart Medal, with either a gold star(s) or oak leaf cluster(s) on the medal’s ribbon to signify multiple awards.
For regular Class A uniform wear, just the ribbon is worn, with the appropriate devices if there were multiple awards of the Purple Heart.
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto]
I believe your preconceptions of Bush are causing you to reject events and accounts that do not jibe with your opinions of him.
Everything I’ve heard about his private meetings with the families of slain soldiers indicates that he takes the whole matter very personally, and that the decisions were indeed hard on him.
[/QUOTE]
I base some of my conceptions on his response to a question at a 2004 debate. While not an exact quote, it went something like “What were the biggest mistakes you have made?” and the answer was something like “I can’t think of any.”
He can put on the somber act as if he had a conscience. But if these decisions were indeed hard on him, why does he only surround himself with people who tell him what he wants to hear and fire those that dare to not toe the party line?