Will Kristol notes that the two most unpopular politicians of their respective parties are Dick Cheney and Rod Blagojevich. Compare and contrast. (It turns out that Blagojevich has read Kipling. Which is really only surprising because it means that he can, you know: Read – Who knew?)
Perhaps Cheney’s image would have been softened by doing in public what he did in private.
Meanwhile, it’s Christmas in Baghdad. And although I do like Kipling, for my own part – in this context, at least – I prefer Theodore Roosevelt:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and gain, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
The Roosevelt quote is one of my favortites. The article on the President and Vice President’s actions is laudable even as it exposes again how deeply flawed and biased our coverage of their administration has been.
I saw that interview -it was great.
Bill Kristol is (usually) one of my favorite commenters/bloggers (current site excepted as NL is more of a, well, a SupraBlogger
. And soon? to be famous author!
Very much to their credit, Bush, Cheny and Rumsfield made many visits to our men and women in uniform that was deliberately not used for political gain.
Historians will note this, shame to the “journalists” that make no reference to the honor shown to our servicemen if it doesn’t serve the “journalists” politial agenda.
Have to say that I am tempted to throw a shoe at Bush for his deciding to give my tax money to almost anyone who asks for it. Major weakness of his IMO. Called his office and made my opinion known. Not sure it was appreciated.
Merry Christmas to all!
It’s good to see some coverage of what milblog readers and those who know the wounded and families of the fallen have known since 2001. I just wish it could’ve appeared in something like the WaPo or NYT…
Lex is read by many. The word will spread to those who really care. President Bush is a helluva man, and the nation has treated him shabbily. For all his faults, and yes, even he will admit that he has faults, history will remember him as a President with big cajones.
God bless and keep the President. Obama has some very large shoes to fill.
Obama first has to fill his own empty suit. But I digress……
I had the privilege to meet the Vice President and his wife at a reception during the 2004 campaign. Basically shake hands, say hello, move along, drinks and hors d’oeuvre over there, thank you for coming, etc.
What I came away with was a sense of the genuineness of the man. A firm and warm handshake, a look in the eye as we were introduced, and the feeling that this guy, for all the power and political acumen that he represented, was the real deal, a great and good man and he inspired confidence and plain speaking.
I hope that he and his family do well in the coming years, because they have earned it.
respects,
I agree that history will treat Pres Bush and VP Cheney better than the majority of our media pundits. Our men in uniform will miss them.
Both are “Men in the Arena”.
Blogojevich—not so much. An opportunist bent on what was expedient , political and serving himself. I hope he sets a new record: Two Illinois govenors, both serving jail time at once.
Just like pilots that make flag rank aren’t necessairly the best stick in the squadron; the Captain of the team not the best athlete; and the President of a college fraternity (which Bush was, btw) neither the smartest nor most well-liked in the group; men like Cheney and his Boss exhibit/meet those minimum technical qualities needed to fill the square with the added strength
of personality and character necessary to be sufficient to meet the tests of leadership and carry out the duties of their offices. Character is the key–we can’t all be Nobel prize winners (unless your Algore) and the job a thankless one for sure….but only if you’re a Republican.
Thanks for this, Lex. Like Fuzzy, I’d love for Americans to know the things about the President and Vice-President the MSM has either ignored or twisted and that the Milbloggers have published through the years. I’ll probably be dead by the time any of this is common knowledge… that is, unless history is re-written as seems to be the norm these days.
Amen Lex.
Cheney has lived Kipling..Talk about self-less, he is the exact antithesis of Blagojevich…From day one Cheney wanted more than anything to be out fly fishing. he stayed all 8 years outta duty.
I saw that interview..Chris Wallace is a chip off that tired old block..I wish he had let Cheney answer his own questions..Wallace has drunk the koolaid on Cheney like all the rest. sells newspapers…
b2
Good Karma all around for Mr. & Mrs. Cheney, both of whom have given a lot for this country.
KSEA D-> KE45.
Merry Christmas to one and all.
Safe journey to all travelers.
President Bush and Vice President Cheney both possess many of the traditional attributes of greatness. I fear that too many of our contemporaries, both media types and others, are unable to recognize greatness when it presents itself.
In my opinion, this is one of the most severe faults with our present-day society.
Merry Christmas and Happy Trails!
Mongo,
Have fun up at the lake… Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!
“…his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
The political left has surrounded themselves with that type of man. “Birds of a feather…” and all that.
#9 B2 “Cheney has lived Kipling” ????
If I recall, Kipling tried to get into the military but was rebuked, while Cheney sought 4 or 5 draft deferments during Vietnam. On the other hand, Kipling ventured near the action; and Cheney ventured toward wealth.
Cheney never suffered from a lack of fly-fishing. He was far too often “at an undisclosed location” which usually meant he was flying fishing in Idaho, or shooting hunting partners on well-connected ranches in south Texas.
Cheney is an ideologue that rarely answers probing questions. Eventually, history will reveal his many transgressions. Indeed CNN reported today that nearly a quarter of the country consider him the worst VP in our history!
While both Kipling and Cheney are both imperialists, I love Kipling. Kipling was an unqualified success. But a fleeting moment of Cheney’s altruism and show of respect – whether reported or not – can hardly overcome a long and secretive, manipulative biography as suspect and blotted as his.
Ah, CNN, the fount of absolute truth.
It really doesn’t matter much if 100% of the country consider the worst VP in our history.That same country is so poorly educated these days they could expect to vote G. Washington the worst Prez in history, except for all those elementary school myths.
You only needed one deferment during Vietnam, and he the one that counted, fatherhood, as I recall. He may have had a student deferment as well, but the fatherhood thing was the final nail.
While I classify the man as a chickenhawk, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t right when he was SecDef, or as VP. That is a completely different matter, and it is the one question the left, who hate anyone’s guts who isn’t of the loony left, does its absolute best to avoid. Ad Hominem is the left’s way of life, and You, Mr. Fliterman, have engaged in same.
What proof of this “fleeting moment of altruism” have you adduced as to its fleetingness? If you have it, from some source other than the leftist, lamestream, lazy, biased, axe grinding media, produce it. Otherwise, Shame on you!
I will not blame nor judge any man who takes advantage of opportunities freely given to him by the government. I took advantage of the deferment to get my butt into college. I figured I’d eventually have to go, so I might as well try for a commission and a little more in the paycheck.
Didn’t work out that way, in the end, so I volunteered and got a better set of options than the average draftee.
I also won’t judge anyone who is a genuine CO. I have respect for someone with the courage of their convictions, even those who refused to serve when drafted and instead took their chances with the courts.
My contempt is for those who ran away when their country called for them, leaving others to take their place and serve, and potentially die or be maimed, or even lost forever amongst the missing. God only knows how many good kids died or suffered because someone chose to run away. I believe that such actions are deserving of the death penalty with no exception, however, I would settle for having them stripped of any right to government assistance, of the right to vote or hold an elected position or a government job.
I also have an unlimited supply of bile for the Winter Soldiers, for the VVAW, the IVAW, and the other traitors who spew their venomous lies and hatred while happily enjoying the benefits of living under the same flag they despise.
Kinda tail-end Charlie here, but just stumbled across this. If you want to read the FUNNIEST parody of Blago’s Kipling speech–my Christmas present to one and all–hit the site “Athens & Jerusalem” at:
http://athens-and-jerusalum.blogspot,com/2008/blagojevich-statement-to-press.html
Hope someone sees this. It’s hilarious!
Leaves one speechless….
Seems to be a bad link, so google Athens & Jerusalem, hit site at blogspot (There is typad by same name) and scroll down to 19 Dec entry.
VX- Too funny. Hard to tell if it was Blago or his wife’s vernacular. A feeding frenzy for the talking heads here in Illinois.
The link should be:
http://athens-and-jerusalem.blogspot.com/2008/12/blagojevich-statement-to-press.html
Reviling of great men is not a new sport for the press. At the Lincoln Library in Springfield there is an exhibit showing what the New York press wrote about him in a time of war. Reminiscent of the Bush treatment, and even worse.
Quartermaster @15:
Thank you, Sir.
There is something deeply hideous about disparaging a courageous and decent man,
and something deeply honorable in speaking up in the defense of his good name.
The mainstream media worldwide is devoted to the destruction of Judeo-Christian
values and society, and the fruit of their work is readily evident. May truth and justice
prevail.
Best regards, Peter Warner.
Flit,
Ah..so easy easy to set off one with B.D.S. Hate is a powerful emotion.
You may be right about their differences. Kipling had a full head o’hair and Cheney is bald as a baby’s butt….Kipling wrote about stuff, Cheney was the man in the ring.
re “that nearly a quarter of the country consider him the worst VP in our history!”
Since when do intelligent folks like me and you reference popularity polls based on the stupid to prove a point, most of whom couldn’t pass that civics test Lex posted a while back? ..Plus, most of ‘em probably suffer from B.D.S.! LOL.
re- ““at an undisclosed location”
Perhaps Betheda or Walter Reed?
Circular, ain’t I?
Merry Christmas Flit.
b2
Oh, here we go with the “Cheney deferments” again.
For those of us who can read, and don’t have an axe to grind, it’s not too hard to find out that Cheney was born in 1941. This means he turned 18 in 1959. Not much happening militarily just then, and the forces didn’t need large numbers.
He was married in 1964 (age 23, just to keep track) . By the time things heated up in Vietnam a couple years later, he was not only married, but a newbie father. Cheney recieved his fifth (and final) deferment in January 1966 because his wife was pregnant.
Apparently, in some quarters, a man who pursues an academic career during peacetime is a coward and a slacker, especially when he gains a deferment while trying to finish his degree, and take care of his wife and child.
That’s quite different from turning 18 in 1967, and going for deferments right away.
I suppose there will always be people who feel the need to tear down someone else. Never saw the point to it, myself.
Fliterman:
“Indeed CNN reported today that nearly a quarter of the country consider him the worst VP in our history!” [breathless italics Fliterman's]
Wellllll, as the Church Lady used to say, let’s break that down, shall we?
“nearly a quarter of the country” –read, half of the left
“consider him the worst VP in our history!” –no doubt, they’ve arrived at this judgment soberly, adding italics only afterward, after carefully and dispassionately weighing the merits of the arguments for Cheney rather than, oh, Aaron Burr, William Rufus de Vane King, Levi Parsons Morton or, heaven help us, Henry Wallace.
But let me put it another way. President Bush’s approval rating, last time I checked, was a bit below 25%. He’s lost all but his most staunch supporters. So if I tell you that nearly a quarter of the country thinks President Bush is the most courageous politician they can remember, will you be impressed by their sheer weight of numbers?
he negative stuff said about Lincoln was basically political warfare. The NY bunch wanted Seward, who probably wouldn’t have done much differently. Most of the attackes were simply ad hominem, nd Lincoln pretty well shrugged it off.
There is a lot of bad stuff about Lincoln that is quite true. Recently, several books have been published on the stuff, and the Lincoln idolators have gone ape (read lots of ad hominem).
Thank you, Peter. Honorable people do honorable things. Just do the right thing, and the est will probably fall in place. If it doesn’t, well you did the right thing and you can still hold your head up even when you lose. The Apostle paul, I’m sure went to the block with his head up. It didn’t end that way, but the welcome he got on the other side, I’m sure, was deafening.
The galleries are full of critics. They play no ball, they fight no fights. They make no mistakes because they attempt nothing. Down in the arena are the doers. They make mistakes because they try many things. The man who makes no mistakes lacks boldness and the spirit of adventure. He is the one who never tries anything. His is the brake on the wheel of progress. And yet it cannot be truly said he makes no mistakes, because his biggest mistake is the very fact that he tries nothing, does nothing, except criticize those who do things.–Gen. David M. Shoup
22nd commandant,USMC