Posted on 02/03/2005 2:59:46 PM PST by Jean S
The mother of a Marine who died liberating Iraq and who provided the emotional high point of Wednesday night's State of the Union Address when she hugged a grateful Iraqi voter sitting in the gallery, denied Thursday morning that the unforgettable episode had been staged, as several left-leaning commentators have alleged.
Appearing with her husband Bill on ABC's "Good Morning America," Janet Norwood, mother of Sgt. Byron Norwood, was asked whether the embrace was pre-planned by host Diane Sawyer. The exchange went like this:
SAWYER: It was such a moving moment for everyone, including clearly the president, in the room last night. Safia al-Suhail, whose father had been killed under Saddam, and who had held up her finger with ink on it to show she had voted for the first time in her life, was sitting in front of you.
First, did you know she would be there? And did you know you were going to lean over [and hug her]?
MRS. NORWOOD: No. We had no idea who was going to be there. We met as we went in the door [to the gallery]. She turned around and introduced herself. I asked her if her finger was purple and she held it up and showed me that it was. And I just grabbed her finger.
It would have made our son so proud to see the success of elections in Iraq.
MR. NORWOOD: We didn't know about her dad until something was mentioned. But it certainly enhanced our opinion of her. She was a very, very fine person.
MRS. NORWOOD: She thanked us for our son's sacrifice and made sure we knew that the people of Iraq were grateful for the sacrifices that were made, not just by our son, but by all of them.
SAWYER: And what did you say to her?
MRS. NORWOOD: I just told her how happy we were that the elections were successful and told her that our son would have been pleased.
MR. NORWOOD: Byron really believed that the Iraqi people deserved a chance to take ownership of the concept of freedom. And they certainly proved that they can do that now. So he would have been very pleased. [END OF EXCERPT]
GOOD POST!
Where were you earlier today...lol?
Now if I could only remember the names of the cynics here.
..
I'm sitting here waiting for Matthews to come on at 7.
Liberal scum just don't get it. It's one thing to loathe the military, but now they loath their parents by questioning their sincerity. How f'n low can they go?
Thanx!
The left looks for the bad in everything that happens when Bush is involved, They are so spiteful and hateful that they have even turned many of their own against them.
They're all a bunch of scumbags, liars and degenerates. Their idea of honesty and decency is Bill Clinton.
Matthews should issue an apology to both women tonight on Hardball. I guess that will happen right after he praises Paul Wolfowitz.
Pity Sawyer wasn't this paranoid during the Toon admin.
Stick around.
Okay!!!
Oh come on, you know they're going to say, "Of course she isn't going to admit it. Bush put her up to this yadda, yadda, yadda."
"...How f'n low can they go?"
There is no bottom for them - just an abyss.
In a related story, the Democrats once again don't get it.
Why would Diane Sawyer have pre-planned this hug?
Thanks for posting this.
It's a shame how some people tried to tarnish this great moment. Imagine how insulted Mr. and Mrs. Norwood felt, and how Safia felt to see this twisted into something less than it was.
Well, today during the Armed Services Committee, Ted Kennedy screamed at Paul Wolfowitz "When are the Iraqi people going to start shedding blood in this war," or something very close to that.
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