BUSH'S VFW SPEECH WOULDN'T INSPIRE (OR PERSUADE) ANYONE

Not the first time I’ve heard Bush say it: “We know that freedom is the future of every nation.” Who made him clairvoyant? Oops. I forget – he probably heard it directly from God.

The Salt Lake City speech was the same-old, same-old "stay the course." I didn’t hear a single new thing, other than his ridiculous comparison to World War II and his numbering of the war dead. And the applause was not what I’d expect from the VFW. Most of it occurred after Bush would say something supportive of the troops, now and historically.

My favorite part was when he talked about bin Laden and Zarqawi’s desire to make Iraq into an Afghanistan-like harbor for terrorists and a state where women would be beaten and ethnic and religious minorities executed. The irony just doesn't get to the guy (or probably it does and he doesn't care as long as the argument works for him) that none of those things were in the cards for Iraq until we landed there!

When he said we should honor the war dead by finishing the task they gave their lives for I nearly threw up.

I think most of our military would say the cause they put their lives on the line for is the safety and freedom of the United States and its citizens. When the president lies and deceives us into a foreign war with a nation that does not threaten the U.S., he has betrayed the troops.

Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson took great issue with Bush in a phone interview with CNN. “Instead of going after Bin Laden and Al Qaeda we went after Iraq," he said. "By doing that, we have simply created more enemies. We have a less safe world now, and we are approaching 2000 men and women killed. The rationale keeps changing. It is absolutely tragic, and I understand how these family members, many of them, don’t want anyone questioning why their loved ones died. That would mean that maybe their loved one didn’t have to die. We need a president who will listen and will change the way this nation is heading."

Rocky, you rock.