Byrd Droppings

Byrd Droppings
by Jennifer King, Managing Editor

May 9, 2003

"The Heretical Housewife"

Managing Editor Jennifer King Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia recently denounced President Bush’s airborne visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln. The 85-year old Byrd, the most senior Senator in many ways, spoke in measured tones evincing his grave disapproval. Byrd said that he found it offensive that a “desk-bound President” would assume the “garb of a warrior”. Byrd further criticized the “flamboyant showmanship” which he asserted Bush had shown by landing on the Lincoln in order to declare the “mission accomplished” and thank the troops.

Mr. Byrd even took offense at the banner which proclaimed that sentiment, deriding it as an “advertising backdrop for a presidential political slogan” and declaring that it reminded him of tobacco advertisements on old barns. Most bizarrely, Senator Byrd averred that the Presidential trip was “an affront to the Americans killed or injured in Iraq”, and that President Bush was “exploiting the war” for a “spectacle” of a speech.

Co-pilot President Bush and Pilot walking away from S-3 Viking Jet on USS Abraham Lincoln (White House) It is nothing new for Senator Byrd to indignantly seize the imperious high moral ground - despite his own jaded past as a KKK Grand Kleagle. Byrd’s dotty ramblings - such as his remark last year about white “ni**ers” - usually fly serenely under the radar screen of the major media. This time, however, Mr. Byrd was quickly joined by a roundtable chorus of fellow Democrats, no doubt acting on the latest “talking points“ faxed over from the ever fey Terry McAuliffe. Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA), whose sole purpose in Congress appears to be investigating Republicans, demanded an instant GAO accounting of the trip’s cost to the taxpayers. John Conyers (D-MI) weighed in. ABCs Terry Moran idiotically asked Ari Fleischer why the President had to wear a military flight suit (right). Ari - surely the most patient man in the Administration - calmly replied that a flight suit was normal attire for those engaged in a flight upon a fighter jet. Moran then asked if the President’s military attire sent a chilling message about civilian control of the military - as though the President were about to merge into El Commandante Castro. And who can forget the shrill harpiness of Mrs. Clinton last week, screeching with her hatred of the President, venom dripping from every syllable.

The embedded hatred which the left bears for President Bush blinds them to the point of irrationality. Consequently, they continually tread down the path of unintended absurdity.

Most Americans watching the event saw a daring carrier landing, followed by the President - fit, powerful and confident as he strode up to the waiting honor guard. The obvious joy and devotion which the troops displayed for their Commander in Chief was returned by him threefold. The President’s speech that evening - in civilian wear, for Mr. Moran - was flawless, patriotic and stirring. The crew of the Lincoln had been headed home when they were called back to fight in Iraq. They were just now finishing an unprecedented 10 month deployment, and they were obviously thrilled to have Mr. Bush aboard. All in all, it was an incredibly uplifting and successful event, which, of course is why the Democrats are complaining about it.

The Democrat’s peevish whining does little to enhance their party’s stature, and it is intensely hypocritical given their lack of concern over the many millions spent by former President Clinton on his jaunts around the world. Perhaps their ire is peaked by the sure knowledge that the troops would never have welcomed former President Clinton in the manner that they did President Bush. Or perhaps it comes from the undeniable fact that (to paraphrase Byrd) they have been, “wrong, wrong, wrong” on just about every issue facing this nation since 9/11. Every success, every victory achieved by our troops, every time it turns out that President Bush was right and they were inarguably wrong, they only get shriller and more erratic.

Senator Byrd, a man who has named virtually every highway and public building in West Virginia after himself, knows all about real “showboating”. He is no doubt upset by the warm reception President Bush received, and by the stunning video and still clips from the event. In an irony worth savoring, it is thanks to Senator Byrd that those clips are making the rounds yet once again. ***

Photo of Jennifer King courtesy of staff files
Photo of Co-pilot President Bush and Pilot walking away from S-3 Viking Jet on USS Abraham Lincoln courtesy of The White House