President George W. Bush: Hail to a caring Commander in Chief, and his equally compassionate First Lady

Bush has always had a special relationship to the troops. In fact, to pull short quotes from media to try to convey what this particular POTUS feels for those that serve under his command does extreme disservice for reality. This President didn’t spent time in front of a military audience trying to impress them. Instead, he always seems humbled by those to whom he spoke, and commanded.

The below video is an from a Commander in Chief to his troops in Iraq in November of 2007. It gives you a bit of insight as to the genuine respect and affection this POTUS has had for our military. This isn’t a man trying to use soaring rhetoric to razzle dazzle his audience. He speaks in a comfortable, conversational tone… as to friends and family. He speaks not to impress, but says what he feels from the heart. This stuff doesn’t make the nightly news.

This President’s visits and actions for our active military were behind the scenes – done quietly, and not staged for to score points in polls, or for political fodder. To commemorate his honor and respect for his troops, President George W. Bush’s 2005 Inaugural “road trip to White House” didn’t follow Lincoln (Obama) or Jefferson’s (Clinton) path of memorative trips and parties. It was a more muted and somber celebration with the theme, “Celebrating Freedom, Honoring Service”. For this President, his re’election was *all* about his troops.

“Celebrating Freedom, Honoring Service” — the official theme of the inauguration — will be underscored by colorful, military-dominated events, culminating Thursday night when President Bush hosts a ball for U.S. troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tuesday’s “Saluting Those Who Serve” event at Washington’s MCI Center kicks off the week’s official schedule.

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Thousands of U.S. military personnel have been invited to the afternoon concert, which also includes Miss USA 2004 Shandi Finnessey.

Later Tuesday, singers Hilary Duff and “American Idol” winner Ruben Studdard will rock the city’s Armory. First twins Jenna and Laura Bush are expected to attend.

On Wednesday, “A Celebration of Freedom,” a free, outdoor event at the Ellipse — near the White House — features the Gatlin Brothers, Tony award-winning actress Kristen Chenoweth, NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Jr., Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and actor Gary Sinise.

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This year, nine inaugural balls are scheduled, including the Commander-in-Chief Ball, a soiree hosting troops who are heading to — or who have returned from — Iraq or Afghanistan. The party appropriately will be held at the National Building Museum — a structure that originally was built to honor Union troops of the Civil War.

Greg Jenkins, executive director of the Presidential Inauguration Committee, said about 2,000 troops will attend the ball.

As the CNN article above points out, most wartime inaugural ceremonial weeks (i.e. Wilson and Roosevelt) were considerably more subdued and somber.

“The president made it clear that he wanted to pay special tribute in a special way to those armed forces — men and women — who put their lives on the line every day, with particular emphasis on the war on terror,” Jenkins said.

Thus, George W. Bush’s re’entry into the White House was an event that was centered around paying homage to the service men and women of the US military.

The first event kicked off on Jan 18 at the first official inaugural gala – a salute to the military at Washington’s MCI Center before 5000 uniformed service members, and family members of fallen troops. Bush wanted a way to recognize the sacrifices of the military and their families.

Or, to use the particularly snide wording of the USA article report on the festivity, “His solution: to make sure the troops get a share of the glitz and glamour.”

The troops attending Thursday’s ball were selected by the military services. Most are “lower-ranking enlisted men and women and officers supporting the global war on terror,” according to Air Force Capt. Gina Jackson of the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee.

They represent just a fraction of the servicemembers supporting military operations in Iraq in Afghanistan. More than 250,000 members of the Army have gone to Iraq; more than 460,000 members of the National Guard and reserves have been called up for active duty since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

WaPo’s version of this event here.

THe USA article bounces back and forth between troop and family members, excited at the invitation, and the USA snippy remarks about transportation and “free tickets” being the big draw. This particular article is terrific if defining the relationship between Bush and the troops, and the media’s persistent attempts to demean that relationship to the public’s eye.

But Bush started much earlier with his personal appreciation for our military members. Ever conscious that they may make the ultimate sacrifice based on his orders, Thanksgiving of 2003, Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad to share a bird and holiday greeting with the US warriors there.

This was far from his only “surprise” visit to his military. To name just two, there was the March 2006 trip to Afghanistan, and the trip to Iraq in the fall of 2007.

For his latest farewell visit to those serving under his command, here are some shots of his most recent Christmas visit via “Rudolph One” to both Iraq and Afghanistan… his last trip as their Commander in Chief.

The media were never much on reporting the President’s personal attentions to the wounded warriors. But as The Philadelphia Bulletin reported this past December, his reaching out to families and casualties was extensive.

Yesterday, the Washington Times reported that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have visited wounded troops and have personally contacted the families of those who were killed in action. The magnitude of this effort was not revealed publicly.

The paper said the president “sent personal letters to the families of every one of the more than 4,000 troops who have died in the two wars.”

The Times also reported that Mr. Bush, “met privately with more than 500 families of troops killed in action and with more than 950 wounded veterans, according to White House spokesman Carlton Carroll. Many of those meetings were outside the presence of the news media at the White House or at private sessions during official travel stops, he said.

Mr. Bush’s preference to not make these visits media events was confirmed by Maj. Gen Wesley E. Craig Jr. (Ret.), who serves as the interim president of the Liberty USO.

However in 2005, he was the commanding general of the 28th Division of the Pennsylvania National Guard. He personally witnessed such a visit by the president that year, while he was at Walter Reed Hospital visiting some of his troops who were wounded in Iraq.

He described a big commotion that happened as he was getting ready to meet some of the wounded from the 28th Division. A limousine drove up to the entrance of the hospital and out of the limousine came President Bush.

Mr. Craig asked one of the Medical Service Corps officers, a Lt. Col., how often the president visited the troops at Walter Reed.

“They see him a lot,” Mr. Craig said he was told by the Lt. Col. “He never brings any press with him. Sometimes he’ll bring Mrs. Bush. It has been this way for the past year.”

For this President, it has never about personal promotion and press photo ops. Instead, tt was about heartfelt emotion, and devotion to those that served under his command.

Speaking of the First Lady, Laura Bush as also visited the troops – she has been in Afghanistan three times, with side trips to an orphanage, and viewed some of the country’s reconstruction efforts.

There is little room to include a significant photo tour of this President with our military. It was, as media often reported in criticism, his most “comfortable” audience… that of row after row of military service men and women. To them, the audiences of troops were mandated to pay respect.

But as you’ll see even by the few photos below, this was a man genuinely humbled by those that serve. And our troops responded to this President, despite the adverse press and times, with enthusiasm.

Perhaps we should start with the Bush trip to Iraq this past December. We saw the photos in Afghanistan. Anyone recall Bush in Iraq? Not likely… because the press focused solely on the unprofessional, activist journalist who decided to toss his shoes at the POTUS instead.

But below? Video of the US troops in Irag, giving Bush one rousing reception for his farewell visit.

Yet another “surprise” visit to troops in Anbar Province, Nov 2007 on Labor day.

Even those on the less reported frontlines got a visit from this President.

Yes, I will miss this President. But I suspect the troops will miss even more a man with such overt passion and compassion for those that serve under his command.