The Press is griping...

1st Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Pretty simple, basic, and straightforward, isn't it? Yet the Press seems to think it grants them elitist standing. Regarding President Bush' stellar appearance in Baghdad, Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post wrote, Some Understand Covert Journey; Others Fear Bad Precedent. "Although the White House lied to much of the press to conceal President Bush's Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad, many journalists and analysts yesterday were willing to give the administration a pass." That's big of you Howard, considering the fact that there is no Constitutional obligation that the White House tell you diddley-squat. "...Philip Taubman, Washington bureau chief of the New York Times, said that "in this day and age, there should have been a way to take more reporters. People are perfectly capable of maintaining a confidence for security reasons. It's a bad precedent." Once White House officials "decided to do a stealth trip, they bought into a whole series of things that are questionable." Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, criticized the White House correspondents who made the trip without spilling the secret. "That's just not kosher," he said. "Reporters are in the business of telling the truth. They can't decide it's okay to lie sometimes because it serves a larger truth or good cause."" This is a classic example of why the White House ran such stringent security on this trip. Philip Taubman states that reporters are capable of keeping a secret, but Tom Rosentiel chastizes those who did! "Former White House spokesman Joe Lockhart, who worked for President Bill Clinton, said: "There's no way to do this kind of trip if it's broadcast in advance, for security reasons. My problem with this is not that he misled the press. This is a president who has been unwilling to provide his presence to the families who have suffered but thinks nothing of flying to Baghdad to use the troops there as a prop."" Really? I guess Joe Lockhart missed Bush' appearance and speech at Fort Carson, CO, last week. In it, Bush said, "It is the nature of terrorism that a small number of people can inflict terrible grief. And here, you felt loss. Every person who dies in the line of duty leaves a family that lives in sorrow, and comrades who must go on without them. The Fort Carson community said farewell to some of your best. One of them was Staff Sergeant Daniel Bader. This good man left behind his wife, Tiffany, and their 14-month-old daughter. Tiffany Bader said this to a reporter recently, "I'm going to wait until she is old enough to realize what happened, and I will tell her exactly what her daddy did for her. He died serving his country so that my little girl could grow up free." The courage of that soldier, and the courage of that wife, show the spirit of this country in the face of great adversity. And all our military families that mourn can know this: Our nation will never forget the sacrifice their loved one made to protect us all. By the unselfish dedication of Americans in uniform, children in our own country and in lands far away will be able to live in freedom, and know the peace that freedom brings. As Americans, we believe that freedom is not America's gift to the world, freedom is the Almighty God's gift to every person who lives in the world. As men and women who served the cause of freedom, each one of you has answered a great calling. You live by a code of honor, in service to your nation, for the safety and security of your fellow citizens. You and I have taken an oath to defend America. We're meeting that duty together, and I'm proud to be the Commander-in-Chief of the greatest military, full of the finest people on the face of this earth." Hugh Hewitt is right. The Liberals still don't get it. They're still thinking in terms of political overtones from days gone by. They don't understand what this war is about. President Bush does. His presence in Baghdad on Thanksgiving Day boosted morale in the U.S. military worldwide. The Joe Lockhart's of the world would easily find this out if they simply took the time to talk with those that wear the uniform of the U.S. military.