Webb's Vilified and HE's the One With the Hate Problem? - Reader comments at The New York Sun

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Dinner With Jim Webb

Submitted by Carla Ward, Dec 1, 2006 13:41

Mr. Dockery and PJR need to look at what actually happened between Webb and Bush before they impugn his character. Mr. Dockery, no one is prouder than Webb that his son joined his beloved Marines, but he doesn't have to like the carelessness with which this administration plays with his son's and other soldiers' lives for political gain. The administration, by the admission of many of its insiders, is incompetent and has caused a morass in Iraq that comes down to a series of choices of how to extricate ourselves, none very attractive. Webb abhors the casual way in which Bush and company chose to place people like his son in harm's way without an exit strategy, or anything other than sheer dogmatism and ideological prattle to justify their actions.

Webb was not being small-minded or petty at that White House dinner. He avoided standing for a photo op, but he did not seek out Bush. It was Bush who chased him down and then asked him "how's your boy?", to which the notoriously private Webb replied "I'd like them home, Mr. President." Bush then said "that's not what I asked. I asked how's your boy." It was a rude and arrogant demand for personal information from a guest who had already made it clear he did not want to give it. Webb's answer even then was a frostily polite "that's between me and my boy, Mr. President". The President is our elected leader, not our divinely appointed king. The rules of etiquette apply to him as they apply to all. To demand personal information from an anxious father whose son is fighting in a combat theater, the responsibility for which the father is KNOWN to squarely place with the President, was a breach of etiquette deserving of a frosty response. As a parent and an aunt to a Marine niece recently returned from her second tour in Iraq, I give Mr. Webb my congratulations and support.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
Can't We Wage Aggressive War, Kill Thousands of Innocent People, Destroy American Liberty And Still Be Civil? [MORE]	Mister Manners	Dec 8, 2006 16:23
I am amazed at the comments of those blaming Webb for that interchange. Bush was clearly trying to present himself... [MORE]	Stuart Ewing	Dec 6, 2006 18:57
Facial to the loser, I would have asked, "how do you think he is Mr. President?" He is getting ass... [MORE]	Paul Cunningham	Dec 5, 2006 14:17
It's curious that Tyrrell doesn't mention in his hit piece on James Webb that Senator-elect Webb is a Naval Academy... [MORE]	Michael Paladin	Dec 3, 2006 08:30
In politics, there are going to be differences of opinion. There is the dry British approach, where political discourse has a measure... [MORE]	Muggins	Dec 1, 2006 18:43
To be accurate, it was not Webb who told the news writer that he wanted to punch Bush but a... [MORE]	Carla Ward	Dec 3, 2006 14:22
Mr. Dockery and PJR need to look at what actually happened between Webb and Bush before they impugn his character....	Carla Ward	Dec 1, 2006 13:41
Has conservatism been reduced to this? A critique of style and not substance? So, Senator Elect is rough around the edges?... [MORE]	JPT	Dec 1, 2006 03:19
As what I can tell Mr. Webb fits the mold for his elected party. A party that loves to demonstrate... [MORE]	Bill Dockery	Dec 1, 2006 09:02
It costs not a penny to be polite to someone with whom one disagrees. Leadership carries the responsibility of conducting... [MORE]	PJR	Dec 1, 2006 09:46
All conservatives want to do is to smear people and promote true hatred of any opposing party. It's one thing... [MORE]	Daniel Johnston	Dec 1, 2006 13:02
Think about how divided this country is now, and how. Its not because of crazy liberals. Extremism breeds extremism. Bush... [MORE]	Daniel Johnston	Dec 1, 2006 13:11
Read this article again, does anything here remotely remind you of politeness or dignity? You neo-conservatives are nasty. Look in... [MORE]	Daniel Johnston	Dec 1, 2006 13:17
let the smearing begin! how dare the senator-elect deign to avoid a pathologicallylyingdrydrunk, who has never seen combat! good judgement, i say!! [MORE]	ed grimley	Dec 1, 2006 16:22
Webb is an interesting fellow. I've never read any of his writings, other than the campaign excerpt wherein a boy... [MORE]	Bob Z Dylan	Dec 1, 2006 16:39
Wearing his son's boots, telling reporters he wanted to slug the president...? That's not arrogance nor rudeness. It's performance. And... [MORE]	Ojisan	Dec 1, 2006 17:04
In Webb's altercation with the President, Mr. Bush was asking about the welfare of Webb's son, which is a common... [MORE]	Frank Brander	Dec 1, 2006 17:13
Mr. Johnston: Please learn your history , most especially, the history of the democrats. They are, indeed, the party of... [MORE]	michael loehrer	Dec 1, 2006 17:39
It describes the Republicans who for the past 12 years have grown increasingly autocratic, exclusionary, and vituperative. They've been running... [MORE]	Carla Ward	Dec 3, 2006 14:39
Democrat or Republican, they are all the same. Makes no difference to me who's on top or who's on the... [MORE]	Bob Z Dylan	Dec 4, 2006 19:26