Debate Over Silence At President’s Speech?
WASHINGTON, June 29 - So what happened to the applause?
When President Bush visits military bases, he invariably receives a foot-stomping, loud ovation at every applause line. At bases like Fort Bragg - the backdrop for his Tuesday night speech on Iraq - the clapping is often interspersed with calls of "Hoo-ah," the military's all-purpose, spirited response to, well, almost anything.
So the silence during his speech was more than a little noticeable, both on television and in the hall. On Wednesday, as Mr. Bush's repeated use of the imagery of the Sept. 11 attacks drew bitter criticism from Congressional Democrats, there was a parallel debate under way about whether the troops sat on their hands because they were not impressed, or because they thought that was their orders.
Well that's a handy rhetorical device to use. Take something that has a perfectly logical explanation and then just make up your own.
The troops were clearly ordered to refrain from boisterous cheering. The President wanted a relatively quiet, contemplative forum from which to address the nation. That's what the soldiers gave him.
There's no debate here, just soldiers following orders.
And lets not forget that tens of thousands of people (most of them soldiers) who wanted to see the President speak were turned away. That's not exactly evidence supportive of the idea that the soldiers are unhappy with the President's leadership.
(via The Political Teen)
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