Say Anything Blog

This is a rather absurd level of vitriol even for the editors at the New York Times:

Having saddled the military with a botched, unwinnable war, having squandered soldiers’ lives and failed them in so many ways, the commander in chief now resists giving the troops a chance at better futures out of uniform. He does this on the ground that the bill is too generous and may discourage re-enlistment, further weakening the military he has done so much to break.

So lavish with other people’s sacrifices, so reckless in pouring the national treasure into the sandy pit of Iraq, Mr. Bush remains as cheap as ever when it comes to helping people at home.

The White House responds (via emailed press release):

Once again, the New York Times Editorial Board doesn’t let the facts get in the way of expressing its vitriolic opinions - no matter how misleading they may be.

In today’s editorial, “Mr. Bush and the GI Bill”, the New York Times irresponsibly distorts President Bush’s strong commitment to strengthening and expanding support for America’s service members and their families.

This editorial could not be farther from the truth about the President’s record of leadership on this issue. In his January 2008 State of the Union Address, while proposing a series of initiatives to support our military families, President Bush specifically called upon Congress to answer service members’ request that they be able to transfer their GI Bill benefits to their spouses and children. In April, he sent a legislative package to the Hill that would expand access to childcare, create new authorities to appoint qualified spouses into civil service jobs, provide education opportunities and job training for military spouses, and allow our troops to transfer their unused education benefits to their spouses or children.

As Congress debates the best way to expand the existing GI Bill, Secretary Gates has laid out important guidelines to ensure that legislation meets our service members’ needs and rewards military service. First, since our servicemen and women have regularly requested the ability to transfer their GI bill benefits to their family members, legislation should include transferability. Second, legislation should provide greater rewards for continued military service in the all volunteer force.

There are several GI bill proposals under consideration in both the House and Senate. The Department of Defense has specific concerns about legislation sponsored by Senator Webb because it lacks transferability and could negatively impact military retention.

The President specifically supports the GI Bill legislation expansion proposed by Senators Graham, Burr, and McCain because it allows for the transferability of education benefits and calibrates an increase in education benefits to time in the service.

Though readers of the New York Times editorial page wouldn’t know it, President Bush looks forward to signing a GI bill that supports our troops and their families, and preserves the experience and skill of our forces.

It’s worth noting that for all the Times’ hatred of the Bush administration and its middle eastern policies, President Bush was re-elected by the American people in 2004 while campaigning on his Iraq policy.  The New York Times, on the other hand, hasn’t faired as well at the hands of the public according to a snapshot of the company’s standings in the stock market:

The Times may hate President Bush, but it would seem as though the Times hardly speaks for the American people.