Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Junior Varsity
Far from being distracted by president Bush's attempt to divide the country on the social issue of gay marriage, 201k is still mulling over the credibility issue of Mr. Bush's service in the National Guard during Vietnam.
On February 13, we said that our problem was not with Mr. Bush's service itself, but with the current G.I Joe routine that marks his nearly every appearance, and which throws his service into relief.
The president's handlers endeavor mightily to surround him with military bunting. They use the US armed forces the way a theater company uses a backdrop. The most famous example was his flightsuit appearance on an aircraft carrier, but there are other, smaller examples--as when Mr. Bush himself said, "I've been to war".
A little story:
201k went to high school at a hockey powerhouse. It is a school which has sent many players on to college and Olympic teams.
201k played junior varsity. J.V.
Fast forward some years, and 201k is still playing in pickup leagues with other over-the-hillers. And when 201k plays with a new group, the question sometimes comes up in the locker room of where 201k played as a youth.
Now here's the thing: 201k never says, "I played at ____". Even though it's technically true--201k did play there. But saying just that would of course leave the impression that 201k had played Varsity. Which 201k did not.
If pressed, 201k will admit to having "played J.V. there". 201k would never, ever leave out the qualifier, never leave the impression of having played Varsity--even though no one would be the wiser.
Because 201k didn't play Varsity, and knows it. It is, as we have said before, a matter of internal integrity and external honesty.
George Bush did serve in the National Guard, but he did not serve in Vietnam. George Bush played J.V. The Varsity was over in Asia. And he knows it.
Which is why, when his advisors came to him and suggested he pull on his old jersey for a few photos, he should have said no.
Instead he allowed them to put a Varsity sweater on him and parade him around in front of sailors as if he'd been a three-letter man. Sailors who were returning from a war.
We can't tell you how much more respect we'd have for the man if he'd told his handlers no. But he didn't. And still doesn't.
When Mr. Bush says things like, "I've been to war", he isn't just taking literary license; he's calling himself up to the Varsity 40 years later.
And the really bad thing about it isn't so much that he's lying to us--he's a politician, and that's what they do.
The bad thing is that he himself knows. And yet he does it anyway.
On February 13, we said that our problem was not with Mr. Bush's service itself, but with the current G.I Joe routine that marks his nearly every appearance, and which throws his service into relief.
The president's handlers endeavor mightily to surround him with military bunting. They use the US armed forces the way a theater company uses a backdrop. The most famous example was his flightsuit appearance on an aircraft carrier, but there are other, smaller examples--as when Mr. Bush himself said, "I've been to war".
A little story:
201k went to high school at a hockey powerhouse. It is a school which has sent many players on to college and Olympic teams.
201k played junior varsity. J.V.
Fast forward some years, and 201k is still playing in pickup leagues with other over-the-hillers. And when 201k plays with a new group, the question sometimes comes up in the locker room of where 201k played as a youth.
Now here's the thing: 201k never says, "I played at ____". Even though it's technically true--201k did play there. But saying just that would of course leave the impression that 201k had played Varsity. Which 201k did not.
If pressed, 201k will admit to having "played J.V. there". 201k would never, ever leave out the qualifier, never leave the impression of having played Varsity--even though no one would be the wiser.
Because 201k didn't play Varsity, and knows it. It is, as we have said before, a matter of internal integrity and external honesty.
George Bush did serve in the National Guard, but he did not serve in Vietnam. George Bush played J.V. The Varsity was over in Asia. And he knows it.
Which is why, when his advisors came to him and suggested he pull on his old jersey for a few photos, he should have said no.
Instead he allowed them to put a Varsity sweater on him and parade him around in front of sailors as if he'd been a three-letter man. Sailors who were returning from a war.
We can't tell you how much more respect we'd have for the man if he'd told his handlers no. But he didn't. And still doesn't.
When Mr. Bush says things like, "I've been to war", he isn't just taking literary license; he's calling himself up to the Varsity 40 years later.
And the really bad thing about it isn't so much that he's lying to us--he's a politician, and that's what they do.
The bad thing is that he himself knows. And yet he does it anyway.
