Dear America,

Oh another day, another day Obama takes the curtain calls for Bush's theater...

"...Now, one of those chapters is nearing an end. As a candidate for President, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end. Shortly after taking office, I announced our new strategy for Iraq and for a transition to full Iraqi responsibility. And I made it clear that by August 31, 2010 America’s combat mission in Iraq would end. And that is exactly what we are doing—as promised, on schedule."

Promised, as such according to talks between Bush and Maliki back in July of 2008, I presume...with conditions to be met on the ground, and in keeping with a long term security agreement between America and Iraq.

...Today – even as terrorists try to derail Iraq’s progress – because of the sacrifices of our troops and their Iraqi partners, violence in Iraq continues to be near the lowest it’s been in years. And next month, we will change our military mission from combat to supporting and training Iraqi security forces. In fact, in many parts of the country, Iraqis have already taken the lead for security.

Even though last month (July) was the deadliest on record over the last two years for Iraq (and for Afghanistan, just simply the deadliest on record, period).

...But make no mistake, our commitment in Iraq is changing—from a military effort led by our troops to a civilian effort led by our diplomats. And as we mark the end of America’s combat mission in Iraq, a grateful America must pay tribute to all who served there.

No, Mr. President, you may be party to tweaking the truth, but for the rest of us, this was part of the plan all along.  However, big difference between us, recognizing the delicate balance of pulling out and remaining hands on; Bush's plan was based on the ground behaving a certain way, achieving certain goals, and maintaining proper troop levels until all conditions required  presented themselves -- to hang tough even when, politically, it is difficult -- you know, not being seen in the best of light...

...Let us never forget—it was Afghanistan where al Qaeda plotted and trained to murder 3,000 innocent people on 9/11. It is Afghanistan and the tribal regions of Pakistan where terrorists have launched other attacks against us and our allies. And if Afghanistan were to be engulfed by an even wide insurgency, al Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates would have even more space to plan their next attack. And as President of the United States, I refuse to let that happen.

Excuse me, did he just say the word terrorist?  (all in all, his speech writers had him say terrorist quite a few times, now that's a change we can believe in).

...That is why, after years in which the situation had deteriorated in Afghanistan, I announced a new strategy last December—a military effort to break the Taliban’s momentum and train Afghan forces so they can take the lead for security; a civilian effort to promote good governance and development that improves the lives of the Afghan people; and deeper cooperation with Pakistan to root out terrorists on both sides of the border

"I pledged...I made it clear...I refuse to let...I announced...I signed... I repeat...clearly as I can..."

...And since the rumors continue to fly, let me say it as clearly as I can. The historic health care reform legislation that I signed into law does not—I repeat, does not—change your veterans benefits. The VA health care and benefits that you know and trust are safe, and that includes prosthetics for our disabled veterans.

Always in campaign mode, never actually believing he is president.

I attached the copy of the Bush speech in 2002, linked above in Bush's theater, to read again the level of maturity in the Presidential lead taken -- not only to the country but, to Congress. Albeit, the speech was preformed under a different stage, it wasn't like a simple kind of rose garden Monday morning rah, rah, rah  or PR front for a group of disabled veterans (as designed by the Obama stagehands), but I am struck by how the Dubya demonstrated -- in nearly every paragraph --- an understanding of what was at stake, the duty that lays ahead for America, and the why, not from front and center, look at me, but coming from a position of WE. 

Through the whole entire thing...
it was we, we, we all the way home.

Matter of fact, one of the rare moments he said "I" was when he said:

"I hope this will not require military action, but it may..."

And then a bit later, adding,

"That is not the America I know.

That is not the America I serve.

We refuse to live in fear."

Now there are many who do not like Bush -- even for me, he was far from perfect; but you have to love the way he was one of us --  standing for we the people at the height of national turmoil facing to resolve great international transgressions; he sounded shockingly level headed and grounded, grateful for his role to serve America through thick and thin, in peace time or at war, doing whatever was necessary to secure America and the world, withdrawal time-lines on a distant horizon notwithstanding.

And we, as a people, felt secure in his commitment to see things through; more importantly, the Iraqis felt secure in the United States and other allies, being there to help.

Obama seems more concerned with dotting his "I's"  -- making it appear that it was His commitment, His troops, His faith, His plan, His timeline all along.

And how could we forget, for the love of Joe VP,
as hoodwinked to Larry King one fine evening in February:

"I am very optimistic about --about Iraq.

I mean, this could be one of the great achievements

of this administration."

That is an achievement We would be proud to call our own, as a sacrifice of WE the people, WE the military, and WE, the previous administration who set out to see this through from day one. We are all in this together, or doesn't that ring any bells for you, Mr. All about taking the partisan one-upsmanship out of Washington?  This is an American venture -- and it has nothing to do with you.

But as we learned early on, the stage must continually be set and reset, and even though the act may take a host of participants, Obama, himself,  is searching for his wins,  opportunities for his audience to throw roses instead of tomatoes, because it is only his loyal left he's got left in the shadows. 

The rest of us can see through the transparency of his antics; while since rumors continue to fly, Obama only has Bush to bow down to  -- for only through his leadership has this moment been made available for him to shine...however, placing a banner across the stage saying Mission Accomplished, may be ill advised.

If the commander- in- chief is not careful, 
a few missteps may cause room for the insurgency to step back in;
the wrong move and there may be cause to even slip, falling into the orchestra...

Iraq is far from being aplomb with grounds for final bows,  rose petals and starlight, star bright. 

Make it a Good Day, G

But everything else King of I said today was really good...hip hip hooray for our veterans and the job of taking care of them upon their return....thank you thank you thank you always x