It is a callous thing to make the family of a fallen Marine props for a stubborn agenda.
But that is what President Bush did tonight in his State of the Union address when he called on the family of Marine Staff Sgt. Dan Clay to stand up in order to demonstrate proud and stalwart evidence for the righteousness of his course in Iraq, garnering the longest applause of the evening.
The family certainly deserves the applause. I, for one, will not ever begrudge them the peace they've made with their son's death. He was a brave American, as they are brave Americans.
However, when President Bush's speechwriters were working through the first drafts of tonight's text, they should have considered reaching out to families who disagree with his policies in Iraq and ask him to do more for Veterans. Reaching out to those families would have been a more effective endeavor than calling on family members who serve to bolster his agenda.
Sadly, President Bush will never reach out to families like the Luceys, from Belchertown, MA, who lost their son Jeff to suicide after he returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. Jeff suffered from the psychological trauma that often results from life in the battle zone, and after months of seeking adequate care from the VA system to no avail, he took his own life. Jeff is only one example of the inadequate care the President has provided for our Veterans.
Jeff's parents, Joyce and Kevin, are friends of mine. They are extraordinary people, as was their son. Had President Bush offered them his condolences, and promised that he would fix a desperately under-funded VA system struggling to keep up with the tide of returning Troops, I bet the Luceys would have stood with him tonight.
But he didn't. Instead he chose to stand only with those who accept his business-as-usual attitude towards the Iraq War, the status of our military, and the daunting situation facing this latest generation of American Veterans.
What does it say about the President's long-term commitment to the Troops that VA Secretary Jim Nicholson did not attend the speech tonight? Not once did President Bush acknowledge the one-million-plus new Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If this new generation of Veterans is not made a priority (all of them, not just the ones who eagerly stand behind his agenda), our Veterans will fail to be fully honored. And our country will be weakened.
I was hoping for better leadership tonight from our Commander in Chief.