The American Spectator

Reader Mail

The Short Goodbye

11.13.06 @ 12:01AM

CAN'T STAND THE HEAT
Re: James Bowman's review of Flags of Our Fathers:

Bowman's disinformation in his "review" of Flags Of Our Fathers is asinine. Anyone watching the film without a political ax to grind recognizes the scene with Truman as stark contrast to the crass manipulation of the three veterans of Iwo Jima. Truman is accurately presented as sincere and direct. Clint Eastwood served in the military under Truman and I was honored to be cast in the role.
-- David Patrick Kelly

I have yet to hear any veterans groups knock Flags of our Fathers. Am I missing something? I went to see the movie and while it did incorporate some stuff I thought revisionist, overall, it was pretty good and I think captured what those three survivors went through. That was the intent of the movie. When I went to see it, I wore my veterans cap with my ship's name on it. A woman sitting next to me (a little younger than me) was quite emotional during some of the scenes; however, after the movie was over, she patted me on the back as I was leaving and said, "Thank you for your service." That one statement justified the movie for me. So knock it, if you will, it just doesn't fly.
-- Pete Chagnon

Excellent piece, Mr. Bowman.

I am often told by my naive (not Native) American and South African friends that America lost the Vietnam war.

On the contrary Vietnam was battle that America fought to save SE Asia from totalitarianism. And today Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and strangely even Vietnam are the beneficiaries of America's sacrifice.

Vietnam was merely a battle lost to win the Cold War. Take heed cut and runners!
-- Marc de Jong
Johannesburg, South Africa

GOOD RIDDANCE
Re: David Hogberg's Republicans in Recovery:

In '90 Bush 41 raised taxes at exactly the wrong time, as both a recession and a war were beginning. (Clinton, by the way, craftily raised taxes well after the recovery was under way, which is the right time, if there is such a time, to raise taxes.) Bush 41 also broke a campaign promise when he raised taxes. While I wished him re-election I wasn't upset when he lost -- he deserved to. He (1) made a foolish decision and (2) went back on his word. (I admit that I became very upset later, when Bill Clinton proved himself to be everything a man should not be.) But Bush 41's tax fiasco combined with Clinton's reckless attempted takeover of health care, a seventh of the national economy, created the environment for the conservative resurgence in '94.

In 2005 Tom DeLay, in response to a report by the Republican Study Committee calling for lower spending, claimed that the Republicans in Congress had "cut just about everything [they] could." I knew then that it was his time to go far away, and that's when I realized that congress might change hands. The later Abramoff and Cunningham scandals involving unimaginable dishonesty added to the inevitability of the debacle. (The Foley scandal meant little, as did the schism between Armey, who really should shut up like readers Richard Land and Tim Jones say, and Dobson.)

We lost because the Congressional Republicans broke their promise of fiscal responsibility and smaller government. They cared more about incumbency than statesmanship. They deserved to lose. Good riddance, and don't let the door hit your pork-laden asses on the way out.
-- Paul DeSisto
Cedar Grove, New Jersey

OK, Mr. Hogberg (Mr. 3 for 3), good piece, you're right. We've had our emotionally purgative moment, now, it's back to work. All is definitely not lost. Maybe this will help, too. Remembering news reports about how some Florida Dems sought therapy after the 2004 election, I looked through my extensive archive, and Voila! (December 3, 2004 entry) A little stout maybe, but my heart's sure pumping again, and I'm laughing all the way to work and at work. My Dem "friends" don't know what to make of me. I suggest it as a daily reading.

Ooga booga, woof, woof!
-- Mike Showalter
Austin, Texas

Interesting title. I'd say the Republican Party actually might do well to take a looksee at the steps of the 12-step programs. In them, it likely will find better wisdom than it's exhibited in recent years.

But it makes little sense, though, does it, for Republicans or anyone else to start plotting and/or speculating now how the elephants can regain anything, until the GOP honestly assesses why it lost so badly and why it's become so disconnected from America?
-- C. Kenna Amos
Princeton, West Virginia

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Taxes, Education, Health Care, John Boehner, Bill Clinton, Television, Social Security, Environment, Constitution, Law, Supreme Court, Military, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, NATO, Africa, North Korea, Conservatism, Immigration, Energy, Oil