printAlthough “classless behavior” and George Bush are interchangeable (groping the German Chancellor was just one of many Bush vulgarities), the descriptive was applied, oddly enough, to his interlocutor, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA). A “pathetic story of classless behavior” is how Webb’s recent retort to George Bush has been described by some. Reports the Washington Post:
“At a recent White House reception for freshman members of Congress, Virginia’s newest senator tried to avoid President Bush. Democrat James Webb declined to stand in a presidential receiving line or to have his picture taken with the man he had often criticized on the stump this fall. But it wasn’t long before Bush found him.
‘How’s your boy?’ Bush asked, referring to Webb’s son, a Marine serving in Iraq.
‘I’d like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President,’ Webb responded, echoing a campaign theme.
‘That’s not what I asked you,’ Bush said. ‘How’s your boy?’
‘That’s between me and my boy, Mr. President,’ Webb said coldly, ending the conversation on the State Floor of the East Wing of the White House.”
Let’s rewind. You’d have to be a dedicated Bush bootlicker to misidentify the ignoble savage in this interaction.
Give Bush the benefit of the doubt and assume that, knowing Webb’s principled opposition to his invasion of Iraq, the president was still sincere in inquiring after Webb’s soldier son. (Bush is known as quite a spiteful and petulant man, so it’s not unreasonable to consider that he may also have been pushing Webb’s buttons.)
Webb then answered in a manner that comported with his convictions, yet still addressed Bush’s query politely (he was careful to call him “Mr. President”). What does the president do in response? He upbraids Webb and speaks down at him.
Append “boy” to end of “That’s not what I asked you,” and you get my drift ‘and Bush’s’ loud and clear.
Update: Here’s a likeminded appraisal of Jim Webb’s worth from Tom DiLorenzo, a man who has had the courage to take on a far more blood thirsty leader than Genghis Bush. My Mother, who doesn’t live on this continent, marveled the other day at how militaristic Americans are. That’s how foreigners experience us. Other American friends I have were aghast to learn that I think that, while Americans are very concerned about the well-being of fetuses, they are callous about the lives of fully formed human beings. Having experienced a couple of cultures during my life, that’s certainly been my abiding impression — there’s a glorification of death for the fatherland in the US. Scary.
Updated Again: It appears I was right. Being the bully he is, Bush was simply pushing Webb’s buttons. So reports ThinkProgress, which obtained its information from Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA):
“Bush was told that Webb’s son had a recent brush with death in Iraq and was warned to be ‘extra sensitive’ when talking to the Sen.-elect. ThinkProgress yesterday spoke with Moran’s office and confirmed the congressman’s statement, first reported by hcc in VA: Not only did Bush know about it, he was specifically briefed on the incident before meeting with Webb, and was cautioned to be extra sensitive in speaking with Webb about his son.”
I’ve always been a good judge of character. I don’t need to look into those beady, dead eyes to see the barren soul. A survey of Bush’s utterances and actions will suffice. Once again, Bush was being Bush.
Sounds to me like dubya was being polite and Mr. Webb was being a classless jerk.
Re your update: It’s interesting to me how people on “other continents” view us as bloodthirsty militarists and of course money spending boors. But, when they get their tails in a crack they don’t hesitate to let us spend American lives and cash to save them. The next time the Germans decide to kick some French and British tails we should let them go for it rather than expending tens of thousands of American lives to protect European shoe shines. I know history as well as the next fellow and realize that that was a war that had to be fought but I also realize that the Brits and French let the situation get out of hand in the 1930’s and we did step up to the plate when we had to.
Americans callous about human lives? Strange criticism coming from European and other cultures where past practices show a lack of concern for human life that staggers the imagination.
[That was MY criticism. And this is a quote from me: “Would that Republicans fussed as much over the many fully formed human-beings dying daily in Iraq, as they do over fetuses.” And this is your logical fallacy, dear friend: the fact someone else was/is bad doesn’t make our indiscretions any better. Having grown up in Israel where people are paranoid about loss of life, I repeat: Americans glorify death for the state, which can’t even be equated with death for freedom.]
Americans have plenty of warts. You’ve read enough of my stuff to know I’m not blind to them but I become weary of people who can’t get it together any better than we can and usually not as well, looking down their elitist noses at the ugly Americans. They can all kiss my American gluteus maximus.
They all bash the US but they all want to move here. Strange.. [Good point; but once Our Leaders finish off capitalism here, and, through mass immigration, turn this place into a Third World, we’ll all want to escape it.]
James, many Europeans think that they have learned something from their “past practices [showing] a lack of concern for human life that staggers the imagination”. That lesson, to be pedantic, is that peace is good, militarism is bad. Not the sort of lesson that America appears to have internalized.
Yet, we have the same history, more or less. I expect that is what puzzles them about us. The difference is that war has always been kind to our ruling classes. Not so for theirs.
As for WWII: we were not the decisive factor in Europe, although we helped. Rather, the Soviets were, although it was really the Nazi’s reluctance to go to full-blown war production that doomed them. By the time we had more than token military effect in Europe (in 1944), the Germans were defeated. By Soviet blood, not American.
Kudos to Leonard for knowing his history. Yes the Russians took it on the chin and finally rolled up the Germans in a most decisive manner. Of course they were just as guilty as the Brits and French of letting Hitler have his way in the 1930’s which led to the European war. Without Americans and Brits dying in record numbers on those Arctic convoys and without Americans footing most of the bill over there with supplies the Red Army would have been finally destroyed with the spring thaw of 1943.
Mercer, some points:A) To Americans death for the State is the same thing as death for freedom. You must remember that for many generations Americans were naive enough to equate the State (USA that is) with freedom. That’s back when life in this country was simple and mostly prosperous. Sort of like reruns of “Leave it to Beaver”. At one time this was actually a true proposition but I believe it all ended with the destruction of the Constitution by Abraham Lincoln. It all ended but because of public school indoctrination the citizens didn’t realize it. Now, of course, public school indoctrination is to blindly hate the country rather than blindly support the country.
B) Your comments about our leaders finishing off capitalism and turning this country into another third world dung heap are right on. I will never contest that point. I support the United States but, alas, see darn few leaders worth spit.
Just what I like to start the day. A spirited debate. Let’s do it again some time before the politicians in Washington start cracking down on dissent like we all know they want to.
[Wonderful spirited letter, Huggs.]
I hope Webb shows Virginia that he does have values. I hope he does not “fall in” with left wingers. I have heard and read a handful of good Democrats’ ideas and opinions. I personally don’t care what party he is working, as long as the government works for the betterment of the people. If Jim Webb does this, he will have done his part and then Republicans will get a more real message.