Bush Offers Condolences In Private

[visionary]

'I'm So Sorry'

In emotional private meetings with the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush offers solace—and seeks some of his own.

By Holly Bailey and Evan Thomas

Newsweek

Aug. 22, 2005 issue - The grieving room was arranged like a doctor's office. The families and loved ones of 33 soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan were summoned to a large waiting area at Fort Bragg, N.C. For three hours, they were rotated through five private rooms, where they met with President George W. Bush, accompanied by two Secret Service men and a photographer. Because the walls were thin, the families awaiting their turn could hear the crying inside.

President Bush was wearing "a huge smile," but his eyes were red and he looked drained by the time he got to the last widow, Crystal Owen, a third-grade schoolteacher who had lost her husband in Iraq. "Tell me about Mike," he said immediately. "I don't want my husband's death to be in vain," she told him. The president apologized repeatedly for her husband's death. When Owen began to cry, Bush grabbed her hands. "Don't worry, don't worry," he said, though his choking voice suggested that he had worries of his own. The president and the widow hugged. "It felt like he could have been my dad," Owen recalled to NEWSWEEK. "It was like we were old friends. It almost makes me sad. In a way, I wish he weren't the president, just so I could talk to him all the time."

Bush likes to play the resolute War Leader, and he has never been known for admitting mistakes or regret. But that does not mean that he is free of doubt. For the past three years, Bush has been living in two worlds—unwavering and confident in public, but sometimes stricken in private. Bush's meetings with widows like Crystal Owen offer a rare look inside that inner, private world.

Last week, at his ranch in Texas, he took his usual line on Iraq, telling reporters that the United States would not pull out its troops until Iraq was able to defend itself. While he said he "sympathized" with Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, he refused to visit her peace vigil, set up in a tent in a drainage ditch outside the ranch, and sent two of his aides to talk to her instead.

Privately, Bush has met with about 900 family members of some 270 soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. The conversations are closed to the press, and Bush does not like to talk about what goes on in these grieving sessions, though there have been hints. An hour after he met with the families at Fort Bragg in June, he gave a hard-line speech on national TV. When he mentioned the sacrifice of military families, his lips visibly quivered.

All war presidents find ways to deal with the strain of sending soldiers off to die. During the Vietnam War, LBJ used to pray after midnight with Roman Catholic monks. Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, prayed with the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church on the eve of the first gulf war. For George W. Bush, these private audiences with the families of dead soldiers and Marines seem to be an outlet of sorts. (They are perhaps harder for Laura, who sometimes accompanies Bush and looks devastated afterward.) Family members interviewed by NEWSWEEK say they have been taken aback by the president's emotionalism and his sincerity. More complicated is the question of whether Bush's suffering is essentially sympathetic, or whether he is agonizing over the war that he chose to start.

Bush routinely asks to see the families of the fallen when he visits military bases, which he does about 10 times a year. It does not appear that the White House or the military makes any effort to screen out dissenters or embittered families, though some families decline the invitation to meet with Bush. Most families encourage the president to stay the course in Iraq. "To oppose something my husband lost his life for would be a betrayal," says Inge Colton, whose husband, Shane, died in April 2004 when his Apache helicopter was shot down over Baghdad. Bush does, however, hear plenty of complaints. He has been asked about missing medals on the returned uniform of a loved one, about financial assistance for a child going to college and about how soldiers really died when the Pentagon claimed the details were classified.

At her meeting with the president at Fort Hood, Texas, last spring, Colton says she lit into Bush for "stingy" military benefits. Her complaints caught Bush "a little off guard," she recalls. "He tried to argue with me a little bit, but he promised he would have someone look into it." The next day she got a call from White House chief of staff Andrew Card, who said the White House would follow up. "My main goal was to have him look at my son, look him in the eyes and apologize," says Colton. "I wanted him to know, to really understand who he has hurt." She says Bush was "attentive, though not in a fake way," and sometimes at a loss for words. "He didn't try to overcompensate," she says.

The most telling—and moving—picture of Bush grieving with the families of the dead was provided by Rachel Ascione, who met with him last summer. Her older brother, Ron Payne, was a Marine who had been killed in Afghanistan only a few weeks before Ascione was invited to meet with Bush at MacDill Air Force Base, near Tampa, Fla.

Ascione wasn't sure she could restrain herself with the president. She was feeling "raw." "I wanted him to look me in the eye and tell me why my brother was never coming back, and I wanted him to know it was his fault that my heart was broken," she recalls. The president was coming to Florida, a key swing state, in the middle of his re-election campaign. Ascione was worried that her family would be "exploited" by a "phony effort to make good with people in order to get votes."

Ascione and her family were gathered with 18 other families in a large room on the air base. The president entered with some Secret Service agents, a military entourage and a White House photographer. "I'm here for you, and I will take as much time as you need," Bush said. He began moving from family to family. Ascione watched as mothers confronted him: "How could you let this happen? Why is my son gone?" one asked. Ascione couldn't hear his answer, but soon "she began to sob, and he began crying, too. And then he just hugged her tight, and they cried together for what seemed like forever."

Ascione's family was one of the last Bush approached. Ascione still planned to confront him, but Bush disarmed her in an almost uncanny way. Ascione is just over five feet; her late brother was 6 feet 7. "My whole life, he used to put his hand on the top of my head and just hold it there, and it drove me crazy," she says. When Bush saw that she was crying, he leaned over and put his hand on the top of her head and drew her to him. "It was just like my brother used to do," she says, beginning to cry at the memory.

Before Bush left the meeting, he paused in the middle of the room and said to the families, "I will never feel the same level of pain and loss you do. I didn't lose anyone close to me, a member of my family or someone that I love. But I want you to know that I didn't go into this lightly. This was a decision that I struggle with every day."

As he spoke, Ascione could see the grief rising through the president's body. His shoulder slumped and his face turned ashen. He began to cry and his voice choked. He paused, tried to regain his composure and looked around the room. "I am sorry, I'm so sorry," he said.

With Richard Wolffe

© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.

© 2005 MSNBC.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8941525/site/newsweek/

[codeorama]

Thanks for posting.

[BlueTalon]

Yes, thanks.

[Thiebear]

His vacations are nothing like ours...

He's met with quite a few of the fallen soldiers families...

And he should as long as its manageable...

[Spaceman Spiff]

Good article

[Larry]

I've recently heard about these meetings in the news.

One of the families involved has aparantly made statements to the press of a less-then-positive nature. I think their implication is that it's an insincere publicity thing. But I figure if that were the case, then the Bushies would be publicising the things a lot more.

Therefore, I conclude that Bush is actually attempting to do the Right Thing, in the correct, non-public manner, and that the one family is simply wrong.

Kudos to Bush for doing it. And kudos to Bush, and the press, for not turning it into a media event.

[codeorama]

Originally posted by Larry

I've recently heard about these meetings in the news.

One of the families involved has aparantly made statements to the press of a less-then-positive nature. I think their implication is that it's an insincere publicity thing. But I figure if that were the case, then the Bushies would be publicising the things a lot more.

Therefore, I conclude that Bush is actually attempting to do the Right Thing, in the correct, non-public manner, and that the one family is simply wrong.

Kudos to Bush for doing it. And kudos to Bush, and the press, for not turning it into a media event.

Excellent post, I agree entirely.

[JMac]

Very good article and I agree. I am glad that this has remained out of the media spotlight as it should.

[Art Monk Fan]

God bless him. I don't know that I could do that once, but 900 family members of 270 soldiers -- wow.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Wow, never thought I'd see Larry give Bush props at all

[boobiemiles]

Sorry if you guys read this the wrong way, but I wouldn't be moved by this "genuine act of condolence". WHy Florida in the re-election year anyway. If he only gives 10 a year then why Florida that year. But that's another story. I personally would see Bush as a contributor to my love ones death. I would have a lot of questions that a pat on the head, or hug would have little to do with. It's not fair. It's not fair this guy is even in the White House I don't care how you spin it. We (and the term is used in the weakest sense) give officials positin that needs to excercise extreme discretion. Bush did not excercise any forsight into the out come of this conflict. He made the people believe that Iraq was a great threat, and it wasn't. Our country is built on a moral fiber; justice and freedom for all. But we're the justice. Bush made a mistake that will cost thousands of life now and in the percievable future. And all we get is tears and a pat on the head. You can keep it, I want answers. Sorry if this offends, but I'm mad, I don't know about the rest of you.

[Joe Sick]

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html?blog=/politics/war_room/2005/08/15/sheehan/index.html

Bush on Sheehan: "I've got a life to live"

George W. Bush has only one sort of plausible explanation for not meeting with Cindy Sheehan: He's the president of the United States, and he's too busy solving the world's problems to have face-to-face meetings with every American who asks, no matter who she is or how much she has suffered as a result of his war of choice in Iraq.

It's not much of an explanation, but it's what he's got -- at least until the president of the United States somehow finds time for a bicycle ride, some fishing, a nap and a Little League baseball game on a single day at his Crawford, Texas, ranch. When that's what his schedule looks like, the president of the United States needs a new explanation. And as Bush set off on a two-hour bike ride with reporters and aides Saturday, he had one.

The president told Cox News that he's aware that Sheehan is waiting to talk with him just outside his ranch. "But whether it be here or in Washington or anywhere else," he said, "there's somebody who has got something to say to the president, that's part of the job. And I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say.

"But I think it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life ... I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy. And part of my being is to be outside exercising. So I'm mindful of what goes on around me. On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live and will do so.''

Casey Sheehan might have enjoyed a bicycle ride Saturday, too.

[codeorama]

In fairness to the president (note, I'm not a fan of his), if he were to cave in and meet with her, imagine how many more people would do the same thing.

It's just like negotiating with terrorist, you can't because if you do, you open the door for more of them to do the same.

[dks1240]

really good article, thanks for posting.

[Larry]

I agree with code: If he agrees, then there'll be 50 people camped out within a day.

(Heck, if that happened, he might actually have to spend the night in the White House, or something.)

However, he can't say that's the reason. (Washington Post: "Bush Compares War Widow to Terrorist".)

[riggins44]

Great article, thanks.

I really admire Bush for doing this. He doesn't have to, but he is. In reading the article, you can see how much the families appreciate the time.

What really struck me was the widow that stated she wished he

wasn't President, so she could talk to him more. To me, that says

volumes.

[BlueTalon]

Originally posted by Joe Sick

George W. Bush has only one sort of plausible explanation for not meeting with Cindy Sheehan: He's the president of the United States, and he's too busy solving the world's problems to have face-to-face meetings with every American who asks, no matter who she is or how much she has suffered as a result of his war of choice in Iraq.

Goerge W. Bush has a plausible explanation for not meeting with Sheehan: He's met with her already.

[chomerics]

This is the first thing Bush has done in 5 years which I agree with. . . Other then Afghanistan, but a 2-year old could have figured out that one.

It is his responsibility as the commander and chief to do this. He is the one responsible for sending troops into battle, so he directly is one reason the son/husband/father is no longer with us.

I do not think he deserves "praise" for doing his job, but I do give him credit for it.

[Cskin]

It's been widely known that W is an emotional person. Come on guys... you've seen some of his speeches... he cares rather deeply for the soldiers he's put in harms way and is deeply moved by the meetings with the families of the fallen. Just his show of emotion during these meetings is amazing... a President crying?? Presidents aren't supposed to cry.

I remember his informal phone call in the white house right after 9-11. He stepped around his desk and told the reporters he was a compassionate man.... his voice cracking and his eyes tearing before he went on with his sentence.

Heck... he's gotten teary eyed and voice crackling during his State of the Union addresses.

I think he's a genuine guy who believes, to his very core, that fighting the terrorists over there was better than fighting them over here. I simply won't be persuaded otherwise.... and history will indicate that this was the correct course.

God Bless those lost..... may we remember them every chance we can.

[Thiebear]

Its out now that he met the family not once but twice already....

This one would be the 3rd time...

[Cskin]

It's amazing how her position has changed from the first meeting. Even more amazing how seamlessly she spouts the talking points of her "handlers"... including Dean's former campaign manager Joe Trippi. :doh:

She's disgraced her family and the honor of her son. It's disgusting!