"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."
- John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), 35th U.S. president
Maureen Dowd, columnist at the N.Y. Times, had some unkind observations about President Bush's Tuesday night State of the Union Address. In her column yesterday, she not only criticized most of what the president said, but how he said it.
"...so in-your-face, smirking...the self-righteous litany of support...Can you believe President Bush is still pushing the cockamamie claim that we went to war in Iraq with a real coalition rahter than a gaggle of poodles and lackeys?"
You can read the whole thing right here. Free registration is required, an annoying little step you must take to read anything at The Times website.
Dowd's column somehow came to the attention of Jason Van Steenwyk, a U.S. Army officer stationed in Iraq. Steenwyk maintains a weblog, Iraq Now, when he's not dodging mortar shells, rockets and roadside bombs. He didn't appreciate what Ms. Dowd had to say about our allies:
"I wonder how many of these soldiers she's had the privilege of looking in the eye?...Their role is absolutely vital, their job dangerous as hell, and they're as tough as two-dollar steaks."
You can read the rest of his comments here. Take a few minutes and look at some of the other things he's written for some perspective about what it's like to be a soldier in the fray over there.
Several other bloggers commented on Dowd's column too. The recap I liked best was written by Matthew Hoy over at Hoystory.com. For a laugh, check it out.
5 comments:
I'd have to admit that I don't care much for her tone, but I'd agree with her about most of the coalition. True, we are getting help from the British and the Australians, but the other countries have contributed very little -- some have sent a few troops or engineers, some have only given flyover rights, some (like El Salvador) have given nothing to the effort except maybe a few "attaboys."
She has a way of ticking people off and inspring comments, doesn't she. Somewhere I saw a response to this column where some blogger had posted a map showing Maureen which countries supported the war and which didn't. It was a powerful graphic.
I believe the coalition countries who are in Iraq are supplying 21,000+ troops, or 14% of the total. This is roughly the same ratio we had in the Korean Conflict. It would be helpful to have more, but I'm glad we have these.
I know Dowd's comments were an editorial, but she's talking like a 6th grader on the playground. You can disagree with someone without being so strident. She doesn't have the facts to back up her dislike of President Bush, so she reverts to name calling. The man is our President and frankly, I am tired of hearing people speak of presidents so crudely. What ever happened to good manners?
truman took us to korea, kennedy and johnson took us to cuba and vietnam! as far as i know we lost them all! if elected where where will the liberals take us?
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