King George & the other George, Then & Now
“On the field of battle, Washington’s forces were facing a mighty empire, and the odds against them were overwhelming. The ragged Continental Army lost more battles than it won, suffered waves of desertions, and stood on the brink of disaster many times. Yet George Washington’s calm hand and determination kept the cause of independence and the principles of our Declaration alive,” Bush said on a clear but frigid day, speaking to several hundred people.
On the field of battle that was Vietnam, Air National Guard pilot George W. Bush was serving in Texas, facing a transfer to Alabama in May 1972. The odds were against him getting there sober. As we was having repeated difficulties landing his jet, his superiors brought in a veteran replacement. He never showed up in Alabama where his retraining was supposed to occur. After more than a year AWOL, he was permitted to end his enlistment early.
Fear of flying led to his desertion in a time of war. Yet 30 years later, his calm hand and determination kept the cause of, uh, something that’s never been determined alive in Iraq, as the head of a mighty empire facing a ragged insurgent army. He’s caused half a million to become independent from their lives, the declarations of hundreds of millions of Americans to be ignored, he still can’t pilot shit successfully into a toilet, and the only thing he;s ever successfully landed is a fish.
