THAT NOBODY LISTENS TO
Posted on 06/01/2004 6:21:27 PM PDT by kattracks
It was supposed to be an event where World War II-era journalists could swap war stories and bask in the glory of the soon-to-be christened WWII memorial on Washington, D.C.'s mall.
But it didn't take long for CBS "60 Minutes" star Mike Wallace and USA Today founder Al Neuharth, who had been invited to address the crowd, to turn Friday's WWII reminiscence into bash-Bush rally.
Wallace began innocently enough, telling the crowd that in WWII, "We knew what we were fighting for. We knew how important it was. We loved our country. We loved our commander-in-chief.
"And when Pearl Harbor came and we finally got in, it was a damn good thing that we did," the veteran newsman recalled.
But then Wallace turned abruptly political:
"I look at where we are today and I say to myself, I wouldn't want to - this is not, in my estimation, a good war. . . . George Washington was commander-in-chief and president of the United States. Franklin Roosevelt was commander-in-chief and president of the United States. I don't have to persuade anybody of the validity of those two guys."
But when it came to President Bush, the CBS newsman lamented:
"I don't know how we got into a position where our present commander-in-chief and the people around him had the guts to take our kids and send them on what seems to be - it sure is not a noble enterprise."
At that point some in the audience, annoyed at Wallace's attempt to politicize what was supposed to be a WWII commemoration, began heckling him.
USA Today's Al Neuwarth stepped in and tried to calm the waters by noting that "all wars are bad wars." But within minutes, he too was bashing Bush.
"I'm proud of every veteran in this country, who fought in any of [the wars]. That includes Iraq," Neuharth announced. "But I must agree with [Mike] - we stumbled and bumbled our way into this war."
The USA Today founder complained, "That decision was not made by the troops who are over there fighting and dying. It was made in the Oval Office. And I think it does raise a question of whether we were absolutely right when our Founding Fathers said that the president of the United States shall be the commander-in-chief of our military forces.
Neuharth continued:
"They were right with George Washington. He had been a military person. But I'm not sure whether a non-military commander-in-chief, no matter which party he's from and no matter who he or she is, has the background or the instincts to take us to war."
At that point boos again erupted from the crowd and moderator Thomas Doherty tried to get the event back on track. But it was too late for many.
Square One Media Network's Kathryn Serkes was on hand and she tells NewsMax that at least 50 attendees got up and stormed out because of Wallace and Neuharth's partisan antics.
Although the event was televised by C-Span, the network declined to archive the video on its web site. NewsMax thanks Ms. Serkes for sharing her copy.
They should have stormed the podium and strangled the pukes.
Interesting enough that Mike Wallace brought up George Washington. I was thinking someone should create a show like the "West Wing" set during the Revolutionary War but based on current events like a blowhard from Boston in the Continental Congress critizing the Commander in Cheif and the war in general, former military leaders complaining about stalemate and lack of leadership and demanding resignations, etc.
Only thing is that all that really happened to George Washington that is happening to George Bush. I read a newspaper article that was the most hateful and partison but it wasn't Moveon.org or New York Times about Bush but a paper about Washington.
If Mike Wallace and others studied history they would see that there was people who acted just like the left in 1776 and during the civil war and right before Pearl Harbor and those reporters, politicans, etc have been proven wrong and ignored as refuse in the dustbin of history.
See my tagline
These two hateful, ungrateful, POS's would have ruined it were it not for a handful of brave vets. Good thing I did not have tickets close enough to the main stage as to see these belligerant idiots.
Isn't that odd, a historical event, and a very popular current event like that, not archived?
Oh wait, no its not. Its the non-liberal media.
Mike Wallace and that whole crew are limp and are a waste of space.
Just like the rest of the naive leftist fools who can't seem to be able to divorce themselves from their political agenda for 15 minutes to provide decorum for a solemn non-political occasion, like those a*holes who were sroundly booed from commencement ceremonies across the nation this past weekend. As Rush said, they are seeing their own fall from power coming and they are going absolutely NUTS! The best we can do is help them along the way to the graveyard of their failed ideas.
Only Korea was started and led by a Pres. with actual military experience, Harry Truman. Lincoln served two months in the Illinois militia. Wilson wouldn't have known an artillery battery from a car battery, and FDR served as Ass't SecNav, and saw the Navy as his personal yacht collection.
The idea that such ignorance can be displayed by two leading media elites should anger all Americans of any political viewpoint.When the shapers of opinion display utter ignorance of the topics in history they were chosen to comment on it's time to clean house and open the jobs up to the viewers of the History Channel. UGH!
It must have been some Dem talking points sent out before the Memorial Day speeches. The guy at ours, I don't even know who it was, started ok, then went into Sunshine Patriots who lead our men to war for no reason, when they weren't even willing to fight in Vietnam, and how they ran Max Cleland out of office, a true patriot (this is in GA)blah blah blah
It was like someone punched me in the stomach. I was literally pacing a path in the grass. My husband, when he got back from walking the boys around, and hadn't heard the speech, had to keep telling me Shhh.
He was right, so I stopped, beause it was neither the time nor the place, and I readjusted my attitude, and looked at the WWII veterans in their seating area, and all the other Veterans standing around them, and thought about the men and women fighting and dying right now, and remembered why I, my 3 boys, and my husband were there.
But I will find his name out, and he will know how I feel about what he did.
Mike Wallace is a pathetic, arrogant, lib journalist who got away with making a racist comment on camera once. He and Andy Rooney are way overdue for retirement.
No surprise here...
Went 'feeble' on us, huh??
Mike Wallace, the Walter Conkrite of 2004.
So what branch of the service did FDR serve in?
I'll post my comments once given.
You friggin' jackass! Why didn't you say this about Clinton? And what branch of the military did FDR serve in.
And people wonder why the media is hated nearly as much as lawyers in America....
Weelllll.. now, I suppose with that line of thinking from these two buffoons; that eliminates Hillary! She had even less experience than Pres. Bush! In fact, she has even less than her husband, who at least was Commander-in-chief!(much as it pains me to say!)
I can't figure out how many of them can preach about someone not having military experience leading the nation; then you realize a lot of them were anti-war, and trashed the CIC's of that time for going into Vietnam! It's a strange paradox! Both presidents who first presided over the Vietnam conflict were ex-military men, and DEMOCRATS!
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