Tell Chris what a real hero is...

[stray cat]

Chris Matthews thinks Bush was a hero on 9-11.

Here is my letter in response. Lets blast him.

Dear Chris,

The heroes of 9-11 were not those who delievered speeches on 9-12. President Bush delivered a great speech at the Memorial Service. I was proud that he looked presidential and a bit worried he would screw it up based on his short speeches on 9-11. However delivering prepared speeches are not heroic.

You denigrate the real heroes of 9-11 by casting President Bush as one. Many of the real heroes gave their lives to save others. The firefighters were doing their job and many of them were killed in the effort. The same goes for the police officers and port authority people. Common people looked out for others as they escaped burning buildings and some died for their selflessness. Passengers fought the terrorists to prevent them from crashing into another building and ended up in a field in Pennsylvania.

Heroes are young men and women fighting in Afganistan and Iraq in poorly planned wars.

A choice of heroes tells alot about a person, Chris. I believe heroism requires sacrifice. You seem to believe heroism lies in sound bites and images. I beg to disagree.

[e-mail]

[Shopaholic]

1. copy to:

[e-mail]
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and
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[stray cat]

7. Thanks for the links. Done

nt

[Booster]

2. Ouch! Right on target - straight to the heart. You pegged Chris

exactly how it should be said.

[Tansy_Gold]

3. Excellent!

grammar glitch -- "However, delivering prepared speeches is not heroic."

[tomfodw]

4. Here's my letter

Mr Matthews:

Bush was not a hero on 9-11 or since. He was briefly the leader of this country, before degenerating into partisanship and irresponsibility. How was he a hero when he first opposed creating the Dept of Homeland Security and then campaigned against Democrats for not wanting him to use the Department to break union contracts? How was he a hero when he used 9-11 to pass the PATRIOT Act? How was he a hero when he gave up on searching for Osama Bin Laden in order to lie us into an unwinnable and unnecessary war in Iraq? A war that has created far more terrorists than it has destroyed?

Yes, he was briefly a leader, truly a uniter.

But what was he doing about terrorism before Sept. 11? How was he a hero on Aug. 6, when he refused to interrupt one of his many vacations in order to respond to the Presidential Daily Briefing "Bin Laden determined to strike inside America"?

Why do you insist on going overboard and violating any semblance of journalistic neutrality to gush over this man? Even if you don't want to call him what he is, a failed president who has done nowhere near enough to really protect us, do you have to be one of his campaign spokespersons? Hero, indeed.

Do your job. Don't do Karl Rove's.

[Shopaholic]

5. And this was mine:

I fail to see how this "helps" President Bush as too many of your pundits are declaring tonight. Does not the very existence of this tape, the proof that Osama Bin Laden is alive and well prove that President Bush failed to kill American Enemy Number One?

In the tape, Osama Bin Laden warns all Americans that neither of the two presidential candidates will be able to keep us safe. Again--how does this help the President's campaign???

I'm sorry, but I'm just not following your logic. And regarding 9/11 being Bush's shining moment? Again, perhaps your memory needs to be refreshed--President Bush sat in a classroom in Florida with a look of sheer stupidity on his face as Americans died by the thousands. Then he got onto Air Force One and flew in the opposite direction of the East Coast, flying from point-to-point before finally turning the plane around and coming back to DC. That was Leadership?

The appearance of this tape did not erase the fact that this president lied to this country and to the world about the reasons for going to war in Iraq. The fact still remains that over 1,100 Americans and over 100,000 Iraqis have died. The fact remains that the economy has lost millions of jobs under this President and for the first time since Hoover, had a net loss of jobs while in office. Gas prices still remain high and are steadily climbing. Halliburton is being investigated for criminal wrongdoing by the FBI. As evidenced by the Pentagon statement earlier today, this administration doesn't even seem to have had a clue when and how the ammunitions storage facility in Iraq was emptied out or by whom. Does this tape miraculously make all of these facts go away?

[PittLib]

6. Thanks ... here's mine:

To: Chris Matthews

If one might be defined as a "hero" for delivering a rousing speech ... then I deserve some medals. The fact that 9/11 ever happened should be enough to undermine this title you've bestowed upon him. I'm aware of thousands of people dying since 9/11, and due to Bush, not Bin Laden. I ask you, who has Bush saved? Do you possess covert knowledge of Bush heroism that the rest of us don't? Maybe this could be resolved by redefining the word, but as it stands now*, Bush and his "tough talk" don't not qualify.

(my name)
Pittsburgh, PA

*According to MSN Encarta Dictionary:

1. mythology legendary man with superhuman powers: in classical mythology, a man, especially the son of a god and a mortal, who is famous for possessing some extraordinary gift, for example, superhuman strength
the Greek heroes

2. remarkably brave person: somebody who commits an act of remarkable bravery or who has shown great courage, strength of character, or another admirable quality
a war hero (irony?)

3. somebody admired: somebody who is admired and looked up to for outstanding qualities or achievements
heroes of the war against poverty