Dan Froomkin: * wishes he could be alongside the troops in Iraq -- except he's too old.

[babylonsister]

Bush's Battlefield Envy

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Monday, September 17, 2007; 2:18 PM

President Bush wishes that he could be alongside the troops in Iraq -- except that he's too old.

At least that's what he reportedly told a blogger embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq. In the first session of its kind, Bush spent almost an hour on Friday talking with 10 so-called "milbloggers," including two who participated by video conference from a military base outside Baghdad.

" N.Z. Bear," one of the eight guests sitting around a table with Bush at the White House, reported: "Responding to one of the bloggers in Iraq he expressed envy that they could be there, and said he'd like to be there but 'One, I'm too old to be out there, and two, they would notice me.'"

Maybe Bush was just making idle chit-chat. But this would not be the first time the president has appeared unaware of the hardships his war has caused hundreds of thousands of American troops -- while expressing a misguided sense of bravado.

He certainly hasn't ever put himself in harm's way. The president who avoided serving in Vietnam as a young man has made only three visits to Iraq since declaring that major combat operations were over more than four years ago. All three of the visits were unannounced and featured extensive security.

Bush's total time in country? Less than 15 hours.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/09/17/BL2007091700952.html?hpid=topnews

[Blackhatjack]

1. Quick! Somebody call the Make-A-Wish Foundation.... n/t

[babylonsister]

3. ROFL! Excellent! nt

[rurallib]

7. Do they help the terminally stupid?

[soothsayer]

2. I wish he'd hurry over there. I'd totally waive the age limits for the dear.

[TomInTib]

18. No shit, he can have mine.

I am actually eligible for assignment until the age of 62.

And I believe the Idiot is only 60.

[Supersedeas]

4. wishing he could be there to tell the insurgents to 'bring it on' in person--just don't want to be

noticed!?!

[rurallib]

5. Maybe God can help? All W has to do is ask

I can't imagine that our Army would want to put a gun in his hands.

[Rick Myers]

6. Bullsh*t George! You have Reservists in Iraq older than you!!!

Lyin' again... :grr:

[mainer]

8. Is there really an age limit to serve?

I thought they were calling up 70-year-old psychiatrists.

[Rick Myers]

17. I talked to a recruiter at a fair this summer, and...

..was told with my prior experience, I could reinlist until age 48.

Sorry, buddy, I'm 50...

But those age requirements are not the same if you are still active duty or reserve...

[jimshoes]

9. I'd be willing to bend the rules

a bit for the chimp. If that's what he really wants, who are we to stand in his way.

[trusty elf]

10. Special Farces

[Vincardog]

11. This is another steaming pile of Chimp Shit.

[trusty elf]

21. What's the Taurine Fecal Matter with that guy?

[shain from kane]

12. Job opening as a cook, serving turkey sandwiches. n/t

[kstewart33]

13. He does like playing soldier.

He likes rubbing shoulders with the troops, as long as it occurs in a location a few hundred miles away from danger. Talk about a sunshine soldier.

[trusty elf]

20. Fowl Play

[mcscajun]

14. Typical "armchair warrior" garbage.

:puke:

[trusty elf]

15. What a complete and utter...

[TomInTib]

16. 'I've had meetings with the prime minister of the country he fought.'

Good God, what an idiot.

All that treacly crap from the bloggers actually caused some minor damage to my brain.

[DemoTex]

19. Very common Chickenhawk sentiment. I've heard it often.

"Man, I really envy your service in Viet Nam. I really wish now I had gone."

Yeah, right. Nothing makes me madder than an old fart Chickenhawk longing for the glories of the battlefield. Those sick-os need to read Wilfred Owen's Dulce et Decorum Est.

Dulce et Decorum Est

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.

GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.--
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen

Note: "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" - it is sweet and right to die for your country.

[JHB]

Isn't Chim-Chim in "Superior Health"?

What makes the paragon of fitness so decrepit that he can't qualify for a tour himself? He's more fit than most recruits.
Not to mention that there are 58-year-olds in the National Guard that aren't "too old" to be shipped out.

So get thee to a recruiter, George! He'll figure a way to let you in!
(not holding my breath)

From 2005:
--------------------
"He's in superior health," Perino said regarding the president. "I think you all know he's got a terrific fitness routine."

That fitness routine includes cycling, elliptical training, light treadmill work, weight lifting and stretching six days a week. As a result, Bush has been able to keep himself in excellent physical shape while leading the United States. The president is setting a good example for others to follow regarding weight maintenance through regular exercise.

Bush's overall cholesterol increased slightly from 170 to 178, with a slight dip in the HDL "good" cholesterol and a minor rise in the LDL "bad" cholesterol.

I thought my heart rate was low until I discovered that President Bush's resting heart rate is 47 beat per minute. All of that exercise he participates in has undoubtedly contributed to his incredible heart rate. Last week, I measured my resting heart rate and it was 45 bpm, very similar to Bush's.

Bush's body fat dropped from 18.25 down to 15.79. The president does not drink any alcholic beverages and limits his caffeine intake to coffee and diet sodas.

"I'm feeling pretty good," Bush exclaimed to reporters as he was leaving the hospital.

The nine-doctor panel led by Bush's personal doctor Richard Tubb examined the leader of the free world and said in a statement that there is "every reasonable expectation that will remain fit for duty for the duration of his presidency."

They added that Bush has a "low" to "very low" risk of getting heart disease.

------------more--------
http://www.scheadlines.com/article.asp?colid=2483

[trusty elf]

22. "One, I'm too old to be out there, and two...,

THEY WOULD NOTICE ME."


:wtf:


:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Vincardog]

23. HE would be the smelly sack if shit cowering and hiding behind the solders.

[trusty elf]

24. Shrub tried calling up some WW II vets for active duty in Eye-rack once,

and they didn't take too kindly to that idea. :eyes:

[momster]

25. When he is old

he will tell stories of how he led his troops in battle...George IV of England, who was Regent during the end of the Napoleonic War, used to tell tales of his actions in battles, events that were entirely in his own mind. Just like Reagan, who became confused between his roles in movies and reality.