Kennedy is the only one I can find a record of.
Oh, yeah. Shodan. Child’s just looking for attention, people. Don’t give him any. It’s just counterproductive.
There is no reason why Bush shouldn’t accept the medal. He is not being awarded it. He is being given it. A man who has earned the medal wishes to honor Bush with it.
To refuse is to dishonor the man making the offer.
This man (who I notice most of you are very careful not to insult,) feels that Bush has been wronged by the constant dishonorable ad hominen attacks on him from the left.
I feel the same way. I bet Bush does, too. The sentiments expressed in this thread seem to be a pretty good indicator that it’s a valid observation.
There’s been a constant stream of personal invective hurled against Bush for the last seven years, much of it from high ranking Democrat Senators and Congressman like Reid and Pelosi.
Bush has not returned it in kind. He has not responded to it. He has been above it. In this manner I think he’s shown a quality of dignity and civility that’s sadly lacking from the left.
This man recognizes it, and wants to honor him for it.
Personally, I don’ think you can reasonably attack George Bush for being willing to accept this without attacking the man making the offer.
If, as you seem to be saying, Bush is obviously such a bad and evil man that he should recognize it and self-disqualify, then the veteran making the offer must also be evil and bad for wanting to honor Bush for it.
Interesting note:
Before George Bush ran for President he had a conversation with James Robinson. The first sentence of this has been widely reported and used as a kind of ad hominem against Bush, you know, the “God wants me to be President” quote.
Here’s the whole quote:
“I feel like God wants me to run for President. I can’t explain it, but I sense my country is going to need me. Something is going to happen… I know it won’t be easy on me or my family, but God wants me to do it.”
I think Bush really beleives that. The Democrats I think are fucking around, playing politics and calling names and saying what they think will get and help them keep power.
Bush thinks he’s a man of destiny on a mission from God. I don’t know about that, but I think he comports himself with class and dignity in the face of his detractors and in this respect looks pretty good by comparison.
The last thing I ever want is a President on a mission from God.
The mind reels.
It worked for Jake and Ellwood, why not George and Dick?
They’re not the Blues Brothers, just the brothers that give me the blues… 
Because Bush was so “wounded” by the slings and arrows of brutal criticism? Awww.
Suppose if he peed on his shoes like he peed on ours, could be. But a refusal on valid grounds, like fear of being struck dead if he touches it, would not be an inherent insult.
One would need a heart of stone not to laugh out loud. And you notice we don’t insult him? You were expecting it, but it didn’t happen so we must be very carefully avoiding our natural inclination, as divined by you? Scylla, let me hip you on this: you know more about quantum physics than you know about lefties. A lot more.
Stunning, Scylla. Simply stunning.
Frankly, he doesn’t look very good by comparison to me. Or you, for that matter.
You do realize that being polite does not equal being right, right?
“It doesn’t matter how accurate the attacks are, people have just been so mean to him! And that’s why I support him and think he should get a Purple Heart. sniffle So brave…”
Bush should not refuse the medal because he is “bad and evil.” He should refuse the medal because he has done nothing to earn it. No-one has asked him to recognize that he is bad and evil; people have simply asked him to recognize that it would not be appropriate for him to have this medal.
And why would a refusal “dishonor the man making the offer”? Since when is the President of the United States obligated to accept a gift from an citizen? Is Bush obligated to accept a gift from every ass-licking conservative who wants to give him one?
And your suggestion that the veteran must also be bad and evil is ridiculous. He could merely be starry-eyed, or stupid, or naive, or simply a fan of the President. Arguing that those who oppose this action must be making some claim that the veteran is evil might satisfy your personal sense of moral superiority and conservative self-righteousness, but it bears no relation to reality.
If you really believe all that, i’m sure you also believe that every one of Alberto Gonzalez’s 71 "I don’t recall"s in front of the Senate Committee the other day reflected a genuine failure of memory.
Scylla, what message do you suppose his acceptance sends to those troops who did suffer wounds, often grievous, life-destroying ones, in actual combat in service of their country? Military personnel do take the concept of honor, and earning the right to wear decorations, extremely seriously, as you should know. Supporting the troops is pretty important, so your team’s cheerleaders often remind us.
Not that this should be surprising from a man who would give our highest civilian honor to Bremer and Tenet, naturally, but he might have learned from that if he hadn’t thought he was simply doing God’s will. And, while we’re on that, do *you * think “he’s a man of destiny on a mission from God”, or simply suffering from the delusion that he is?
“It worked for Jake and Elwood”, you say? That isn’t even funny in this context, even if it were true. Didn’t you notice all the destruction they left behind them? Almost of Baghdad proportions.
[QUOTE=elucidator]
Scylla, let me hip you on this: you know more about quantum physics than you know about lefties. A lot more.
[QUOTE]
I’m sure that’s true. I have to admit that this confuses me:
" (4/19, Springfield, Tenn.): I have spent the better part of this tour trying to come up with easy ways for us all to become a part of the solution to global warming. Although my ideas are in the earliest stages of development, they are, in my mind, worth investigating. One of my favorites is in the area of forest conservation which we heavily rely on for oxygen. I propose a limitation be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting. Now, I don’t want to rob any law-abiding American of his or her God-given rights, but I think we are an industrious enough people that we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where 2 to 3 could be required."
-[Sheryl Crow](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/21/AR2007042101385_pf.html)
I have one question for you Friend, Elucidator, and I want you on your honor to answer this one honestly.
Having read that, who would you rather corn dog in the caboose, Sheryl Crow or Ann Coulter?
In exactly what sense is it not appropriate for him to accept this from the man who was awarded it?
In the sense that the man who was awarded it is now awarding it to Bush as though he had earned it.
Beats me. I don’t speak for them.
But I will tell you my mother was given her father’s NYPD Chiefs badge by her father after he retired, and that really didn’t contain any message for all the other police chiefs.
Once you’ve been given a medal, you can do what you want with it. When I was little we asked my Dad for his medals and he gave them to us to play with until we lost them.
But, I do think that Bush will be treating the medal with a lot more respect than Kerry treated the ones he was given (or the ones my Dad gave me, to be fair) so I think the message that is being sent is one of respect.
More to the point, in the sense that Bush plans to *accept * it as if he had earned it.
Coward.
Better explain that. Kerry was opposing a futile, evil war, and made a political statement about it, along the lines that the country was not honoring the sacrifice the troops were making, therefore what the medals signified was debased. That was an act of *tremendous * respect for the medal and for the honor, respect obviously as far beyond your comprehension as is honor.
True. It’s the gentleman’s business to do what he wants with it, as silly as I may think his reasons are. Bush should know better than to make it look as if he’s equating receiving harsh criticism to getting shot in the line of duty.
So you disagree with Thomas?
he says: "“I feel the President deserved one,” he said. “The bottom line is, I paid for these Purple Hearts with my blood.”
He earned it like this:
"Thomas said the Purple Heart he is presenting the president has special meaning to him because the injury he suffered to earn it occurred just after a friend, Richard Peterson, lost his life attempting to save him.
“The hand grenade came in, and I didn’t see it. Before diving, which he should have … he pushed me down and the delay cost him his life,” Thomas recalled. “Shortly after that, I was laying in position … and took a .50-caliber round that shattered my shoulder blade and virtually took out my right lung.”
The man is paying Bush a great and sincere compliment. It’s not really about you, nor is it really about Bush.
The only person that really has a right to say who it should go to is Thomas.
Personally, I can’t imagine anybody deserving such a compliment, which is why I can’t imagine why anyone would dare refuse it.
So, if Bush through the medal away that would be ok and respectful because you think Iraq war is also evil, but by accepting graciously he’s been disrepectful?
How many squares of tp do you use?
Also, Bush is perennially happy to bask in the reflected glory of the troops when they’re cheering and supporting him, but has shown little more than lip service to those in the armed forces—from privates to generals—who have been at all critical of him or his policies.
He is taking time out of his schedule to accept this award in person, at the White House, from a veteran who feels sorry for him. I wonder what response he’d give if a different veteran wanted to present Bush with his Purple Heart out of respect for all the soldiers who have been killed in a disastrously-managed war and occupation. Somehow, i suspect his calendar would be full that day.