It Really Makes Me Mad
President Bush knows no shame, whatsoever.
THE PRESIDENT: We made a commitment to our troops and to the loved ones -- and to their loved ones -- that we'll support them in their missions. That's why I went to the Congress last September and proposed supplemental funding for body armor and spare parts, ammunition, fuel, that which is necessary to support our men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq. It's an $87 billion request; it was necessary. As a matter of fact, the Congress believed that. It was -- there was overwhelming support, and so overwhelming, only 12 United States senators voted against it, two of whom are my opponent and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: As a matter of fact, only four United States senators voted to authorize the use of force, and then voted against funding our troops. Two of those senators were my opponent and his running mate.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: So they asked him, they said, you know, why didn't you vote? He said, well, I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Then they pressed him further and he said he's proud of his vote, and then he said, well, the whole thing is a complicated matter. There's nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat. (Applause.)
How does he have the gall to stand up there and say these things? Kerry votes no because he wants to help pay for the $87 billion by rolling back Bush's top 2% tax give-away. How freaking hard is it to say "I want to help the troops but that there is a better, more practical way to pay for it?" How does he have the gall to stand up there and say these things when his administration tried to cut combat pay but was shamed out of it? How can he say these things when he sent Marines in underfunded? Never mind the most basic fact that they are in Iraq at all...
How is this reality? Kerry is not (yet) Commander in Chief, so all of those things lay at the doorstep of George W. Bush. Period. The president should be ashamed of the way he is acting in this election. It's shameful and cowardly and isn't befitting the President of the United States of America.
Update: Jesse Berney also had a nice reply over at "Kicking Ass."
Don't let him fool you. Supporting the troops — getting them what they need to get the job done — is enormously complicated. Bush would like it if members of Congress just ignored the details and wrote him a blank check. But our Representatives and Senators have a duty to their constituents — and to the troops — to make sure those funds are well spent. But Bush and his special interest friends would be much happier if Congress shirked that duty.
