Thanks to Neptunus Lex for bringing this to the light.
As we reached the 4,000th service-member killed in action, I found myself disgusted with both the Bush administration and its irresponsible, cynical opponents. The slogan, "Support Our Troops, Bring Them Home," may be the most dishonest that ever intruded on American politics - but the war's original sponsors haven't rushed their own kids to the recruiting office, either.
With all-too-rare exceptions, our politicians, right or left, really don't give a damn about our troops. Polls matter, grunts don't.
Oh, the pols spout all sorts of rhetoric about how much they honor those in uniform, but they really only value our troops as tools of partisan policies or for photo ops.
Between the incumbent president and his would-be replacements, only one has served in uniform or had a son or daughter serve in uniform. If military service is so praiseworthy, why don't more pols encourage their own kids to sign up? I'll tell you why: They regard our troops as second-raters who couldn't get into Harvard Law or a master's program at Yale.
It's the Leona Helmsley approach to policy: Our troops are the "little people."
Powerful stuff. I always felt that way when was a Coastie. Like the endless dog and pony shows we were forced to endure. Like manning the rails of our cutter in the 98 degree Miami heat in tropical blue long for hours waiting for the VIPs to show up. People were passing out from the heat while the VIPs bullshitted in the a/c.
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