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George Bush's very low blow

An editorial  —  9/04/2008 5:23 am

Did George Bush, in his valedictory address to the last Republican National Convention of his presidency, actually compare liberal critics of his administration and his party to North Vietnamese guards who were accused of torturing prisoners of war?

Yes, he did.

Speaking via a live video feed from the White House on the second night of the convention, Bush enthusiastically endorsed the man his campaign smeared in the 2000 Republican presidential primary campaign.

Then, after recalling presumptive presidential nominee John McCain's status as a POW during the Vietnam War, Bush tossed off what may well have been the crudest applause line ever uttered by a sitting president with regard to the campaign to succeed him.

Referring to the prison in which McCain was held, Bush revealed the depth of his own bitterness by declaring: "If the Hanoi Hilton could not break John McCain's resolve to do what is best for his country, you can be sure the angry left never will."

The delegates, alternates and hangers-on leapt to their feet and cheered wildly for a statement that sounded more like a "talk-radio" jibe than a presidential pronouncement.

And George Bush took another step toward the dustbin of history.

An editorial  —  9/04/2008 5:23 am