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Cruelty is the Common Thread in this Political Arena!
By Debbie Daniel
April 8, 2004

I listened to Laura Bush interviewed on Fox Network's "After Hours with Cal Thomas" the other evening. Wow! That lady can hold her on. I thought Condi Rice and Karen Hughes were tough, but that Laura Bush is something else.

Here's how this segment of the show was introduced: We give a special welcome to first lady Laura Bush. She discusses her husband, the election, and her dedication to reading and education.

After the commercial, I was anticipating some candid and enlightening discourse with Mrs. Bush, but one of the first comments out of Cal Thomas' mouth was about her mother-in-law, Barbara Bush, making a remark several years ago about Hillary Clinton.

Laura Bush answered: "My mother-in-law is so terrific, why would you bring up that one thing?"

And she's right - WHY?

He jumped right into his next question: "I understand your husband, the President, is a Yale graduate, yet he is regarded as a dunce and an idiot . . . why is that?"

I couldn't help myself and blurted out as loud as I could to Mr. Thomas: "Have you no shame?" Of course, it had no effect on him whatsoever, but for some reason, even on a fair and balanced network, his glow seemed to dim.

I don't know why he needed to ask such impertinent questions, but the way in which he asked them was so abrasive; especially to the First Lady of America. Why would anyone want to ask any loving wife why her husband is thought of as an idiot? Have we lost our sense of propriety?

She responded with this: "I can't believe you'd ask these things."

And you know what? I couldn't believe it either.

And then he said: "I thought your husband came to Washington to change the tone . . . has he failed?"

Whoa, what a way to pose a question. You talk about TONE!

But Laura Bush in her own lovely way said, "No, they've failed."

Hip-hip-hooray! You go girl!

George Bush DID come to Washington to change the "Tone" . . . the liberals just keep changing the "Tune." The glass is ALWAYS half-empty with liberals . . . it's doom and gloom and you better not forget it.

I remember an old Perry Como song called: Accentuate the Positive!

Here's how it goes: You gotta' accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative;

An' latch on to the affirmative, don't mess with mister in-between!

You gotta' spread joy up to the maximum, bring gloom down to the minimum;

An' have faith (amen!), or pandemonium's liable to walk upon the scene!

I realize that's a really "old" song, but didn't most of us grow up with this philosophy? What happened?

George Bush tries to accentuate the positive every time he speaks to the American people. Now that's setting a "tone."

But liberals refuse to listen to any good-news about America for fear it will make George Bush look good? Don't they realize we need to hear praise for America? It's uplifting!

I felt that Cal Thomas stepped over the line and got on the fighting side of this little southern belle, Laura Bush. If kindness could kill, he would be a goner. She maintained her composure and never gave in to his obvious desire to break her.

If he broke anything, it was her heart. I'm sure it's hard enough to hear those words spoken on TV and Radio all the time about someone you love, but to slap the First Lady in the face with such callous disregard is a low blow.

I would think Americans were better than that, but we continue to disgrace and debase Mr. Bush as if he's absolute filth.

But the media feel that when you are in the public eye, you are fair game. Have we gone too far? Do you really come out and tell a wife on national television that her husband is an imbecile?

What kind of message does this send to our kids? And we're so concerned about how they talk to one another. Hello?

Bill O'Reilly asked Karen Hughes, a close friend of the President, "He's just stubborn, isn't he?" And bless her heart, she answered, "No, Bill, the President is strong-willed and has strong convictions."

Now that's a friend.

George Bush has certainly been good comedic conversation for the late-night talk shows, but lately it seems the "HATE" is starting to show. The mission is to humiliate; be cruel at all costs. Just listen . . . you'll hear it.

I expect to hear any day from a reporter asking the Bush girls why everyone hates their Dad. Now won't this make us proud as a nation?

I can't imagine asking any wife or child a question like this, but we seem to get such joy out of denigrating our President? Does it make us feel better that we can?

We've "roasted" presidents for years, and this one in particular has been a pretty good sport. He's very charismatic and enjoys a good joke; he's even been self-deprecating and doesn't mind laughing at himself.

But have you noticed the little jabs and zingers directed at George W. Bush on some of the television situation comedies have gotten harsher. One sitcom I recently heard about was Whoopi Goldberg's. There's a scene where a man comes running into the store shouting that he just saw George Bush in the men's room . . . "He's in there doing to our bathroom what he's been doing to our country."

Many Americans believe that George Bush should go to his grave with the blood of 3,000 people on his hands - he murdered each and every one of them.

Don't you know Osama bin Laden loves to hear this? Let's keep feeding this fodder to Al-Qaeda - if anyone enjoys cruelty at its best, they do.

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Debbie Daniel can be contacted at: dddtx@yahoo.com

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.