An e-mail:
Bush’s “I feel your pain” moment? What an asinine thing to say. I’ve been there in the Battalion Aid Station with the commanding officer when they bring in the Marine who was just killed on a patrol. The pain of having to give orders that result in the deaths of good men is second only to that of the family itself – except most families only face it once. Commanders face it again and again and again. Bush is a good commander, and he knows that pain exquisitely. Knowing that it must be done does not erase the anguished sense of responsibility. These fools worry about whether Bush feels my pain? I surely hope not. He has more than enough of his own and I wonder if they have the sense to feel his.
God bless him, but I surely wouldn’t want his job.