Friday, Dec. 5, 2003 | 9:47 a.m.
I heartily agree with Mike O'Callaghan's view that President Bush did the right think in making his Thanksgiving visit to American combat soldiers in Iraq.
Sure it was a risk. But our president showed bravery in taking that risk. And he was a living example of gutsiness that you can bet will pump up the morale of our troops. Here's a guy who plans, prepares and does what's necessary. That's the same thing American troops have to do. I'll bet you that tens of thousands of combat troops now realize they have a leader who they can follow, a leader who will bravely risk his life to fly to the battle front to speak to them, encourage them, and let them know he's with them.
And we here at home get the same idea -- here's a man who by his bravery and leadership helps our fighting forces, and to a lesser extent us citizens, overcome fear.
I also appreciated that O'Callaghan wrote about Presidents Lincoln, Eisenhower and Johnson visiting battle fronts during the Civil War, Korea and Vietnam, respectively. These leaders visited troops who daily risked their lives. Also interesting in the column was O'Callaghan's mention of how Democratic candidate Wesley Clark, seeing the good it brought, praised the president's inspiring trip. I've also read that candidates Joe Lieberman and John Kerry feel the same.
This morale-boosting visit might even cause critics of the Iraq war to back off -- or at least cut down their carping. Maybe critics will now want to enlist.
PAUL L. LARSEN
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