Bush PR troops pull into town

Bush is due to arrive here in my newly adopted state of North Carolina and the weather couldn't be more perfectly symbolic. It's a dreary gray and rainy day. The kind of day you want to nap through things like another stop on the pointless Presidential PR tour.

The Fayetteville On-Line runs a surprisingly snarky article on the visit, noting Bush's motives in selecting the base as his platform for this speech.

"He gets the benefit of a backdrop of American soldiers who are the most respected group in society," said Richard H. Kohn, a military history professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "He's using the venue, hoping it will transfer the support we have for the military to support for him and his policies."

Fat chance. It's becoming obvious even to his supporters that he's using the venue and the soldiers as pawns in these heartless war games. The article notes,

Fort Bragg officials had no word Monday afternoon about which soldiers will get tickets. The president is expected to meet privately with some servicemen...

As with all Bush events, it's to be a handpicked crowd. Even in the comfort of a base so intimately involved in the occupation, dissenters are apparently to be found.

Back-to-back deployments from Fort Bragg have strained troops and their families.

"There are some signals out there that a lot of soldiers out there aren't cheering," said Thad Beyle, a political science professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The Fayetteville also runs commentary from ten local citizens on what they want to hear from the president. I doubt he'll want to hear what they have to say.

Meanwhile, The Heretik previews Bush's speech tonight and asks the $400 billion tax dollar question. "How long will we waste our time against an enemy who never attacked us...?"

To which I add, how much longer must the taxpayer fund a traveling dog-and-pony show to trick us into believing they did?