Moore compliments Bush on raising his daughters
Sid9
Don't send more kids to die
Bush can spare other good parents grief
By Michael Moore
Political conventions have become predictable rituals, four-day cheerleading
sessions for both parties. So USA TODAY is offering readers an alternative
perspective. Michael Moore, director of Fahrenheit 9/11, is writing daily
from the Republican convention in New York. A month ago, conservative
National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg weighed in from the Democratic
convention.
NEW YORK - Tonight, it's show time for George W. Bush, and I can't wait to
hear what he has to tell the Republican convention.
It has been a pretty thrilling week so far, my favorite moment by far being
the rebellious Bush twins who, in just a few short minutes, delivered on
their promise to issue "payback" to their parents and all authority in
general.
They revealed their parents' pet name for each other: "Bushie" or "Bushy" -
no spelling was provided. They seemed to have embarrassed their grandmother
with a joke about the TV show Sex and the City as a place to have sex. And
they claimed to have seen their boogieing parents "shake it like a Polaroid
picture." That's one picture that took the rest of the night for me to shake
out of my head.
Nonetheless, I loved the Bush daughters: They were funny, sassy and free
spirits. Back in 1999, they told their father in no uncertain terms that
they did not want him to run for president. They wanted their dad at home,
they wanted their privacy, and they wanted to go to college in peace. He
chose to ignore their pleas - and I guess Tuesday night was their way of
saying, "Thanks, Dad."
And thank him they should. He and Laura have obviously done a good job
raising two bright, independent women. He made their privacy a top priority
and did what he could to protect them. They clearly love their parents and,
when you see that happen, you know the Bushes did something right in their
home. For that, they should be commended.
Other fathers and mothers who loved their daughters and sons across America
can no longer celebrate with them. That's because their children are dead on
the streets and roads of Iraq, sent there by Mr. Bush to "defend" America.
This week, in an appearance leading up to his arrival here Wednesday night,
Bush acknowledged he had miscalculated what would happen in Iraq after he
invaded it. He had thought it was going to be much easier. It turned out to
be much, much worse.
That must be some comfort to the parents of nearly 1,000 brave soldiers now
dead because of his "miscalculation." If I made a miscalculation and ran
over a child on the street, what do you think would happen to me? Do you
think the cops would simply say, "Hey, Mr. Moore, you did your best driving
down this street, you made a miscalculation, the kid is dead, but you are
trying to save the world, so be on your way?" Something tells me this is not
what would happen. What I don't get is that Mr. Bush makes his mistake and
thinks he has a right to continue in his job.
Let's hope he isn't getting his inspiration from Richard Nixon, the same man
Arnold Schwarzenegger hailed Tuesday night as his reason for becoming a
Republican. You have to give Arnold an award for guts. He must be the first
Republican convention speaker to mention Nixon since he resigned. Nixon
snuck into office in 1968 with his secret plan to end the Vietnam War.
Another miscalculation: The war continued for years, and thousands more
died.
I would love to hear Bush apologize tonight to the parents and loved ones of
those who have died in Iraq. I would like to hear him say he knows what it
means to love your children and that he, in good conscience, cannot send any
more children to their deaths.
I would like to hear him say tonight, "I'm sorry. There never were weapons
of mass destruction and there never was a connection between Saddam Hussein
and 9/11. There was no imminent threat, our lives were not in danger, no
missiles were going to hit Cleveland. Because of our desire to get our hands
on the second largest supply of oil in the world, we sacrificed a thousand
of your sons and daughters. For this, we are greatly sorry."
I guess a boy can dream.
The other thing I would like to hear tonight is: Why haven't you caught
Osama bin Laden? You've had three years to find him. The man killed nearly
3,000 people here on our soil.
Maybe Bush has no worse explanation than he just hasn't been able to do it.
Well, if your town's dogcatcher couldn't catch a wild dog that has been on
the loose biting people for three years, what would be the dogcatcher's
chances for re-election? Not good.
And so it should be for Bush.
Unless he has the answers tonight. Perhaps he has a reason or can accept
responsibility for his actions and promise to send no one else's child off
to die for a cause that has nothing to do with the defense of this country.
If he takes a moment to look into his daughters' eyes tonight, he will know
the answer and give the greatest speech of his life
--
"a catastrophic victory"
"Mission Accomplished"
"Bring 'em on!"
"We found Weapons of Mass Destruction"
"Mistakes were made"
"You're doing a superb job."
PS: Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11
9/11 had nothing to with Iraq.
Vote for Kerry-Edwards!