The American Spectator

p> OVER THEIR HEADS br> Re: Reid Collins’ Centigrade Conversions : /p>

Moore’s movie wants to make us believe George Bush is an incompetent dunce who was unable to act decisively when informed of the 9/11 attacks. Moore and Strawberry, er, Raspberry, ignore the fact that the duty George Bush volunteered for, flying jet interceptors, requires the highest job qualifications in the military and is some of the most dangerous duty available. No military service, anywhere, entrusts an expensive, sophisticated jet aircraft to anyone unless that person possesses levels of intelligence, coordination, courage and decisiveness far above average. Only the brightest, most competent men and women serve our country as military aviators.

Many become airline pilots, an honored and respected occupation in America; we routinely entrust our lives to them, relying on the intelligence and skills that earned them their wings to ensure our safe transit. An Internet search for “most dangerous occupations” confirms that pilots rank very high, with airline pilots in third place; and flying high performance military aircraft is far more dangerous than flying passenger jets. Ask an airline pilot. Ask your insurance agent.

Yet that is exactly what our president did, the same man that Moore would have you believe was an ignorant, indecisive shirker. Isn’t it strange how a tough, brilliant, political operative like Bob Bullock, the late, legendary lieutenant governor of Texas, a DEMOCRAT, saw Bush so differently? He saw him as strong and savvy and became his close friend and political ally. Ask Texas Dems who knew him: Bob Bullock was no fool; he knew how to take the measure of a man far better than some effete filmmaker or a snidely superior columnist.

So, Moore and Strawberry and their ilk should consider the fact that such uninformed criticism reflects far more poorly on them than on GWB. They are free to attack his policies all they want, but spewing contempt for his intelligence and courage exposes their own ignorance of reality; dummies don’t get into flight school and indecisive cowards don’t fly jet interceptors. Of course, these arrogant critics who hold Bush in such contempt would know that if they’d been smart, brave and decisive enough to become military aviators themselves.

p>Hey, Moore; hey, Strawberry; the man earned his wings; where the hell are yours? br> — Russ Vaughn br> Lakehills, Texas /p>