The Moose reiterates his call for a cancellation of the inaugural festivities.
Let the Moose be clear - to forego the inaugural parties is certainly not to begrudge the President his victory. This is not a proposal to protest his policies. The same approach should have applied to the inauguration if Kerry had been elected. Moreover, a party-free inauguration should have the broad support of hawks and doves, liberals and conservatives and Democrats and Republicans.
Since we are a nation at war, there should not be an inaugural as usual. Lavish celebratory festivities are not in order. Official partying is entirely inappropriate while our brave troops are sacrificing life and limb for country. We were reminded of this horrible fact by the monstrous attack on our troops yesterday in Mosul.
An excerpt from the dispatch by a reporter from the Richmond Times Dispatch who was on the scene -
Scores of troops crammed into concrete bomb shelters outside. Others wobbled around the tent and collapsed, dazed by the blast.
"I can't hear! I can't hear!" one female soldier cried as a friend hugged her. Near the front entrance to the chow hall, troops tended a soldier with a gaping head wound. Within minutes, they zipped him into a black body bag. Three more bodies were in the parking lot then"
How can we contemplate the contrast of partiers dressed to the nines, dining on fine foods and dancing to peppy tunes at four star hotels and in magnificent government structures while our troops in a vulnerable mess tent in a distant land are victims of horrific carnage? The inauguration is not a private party - it is a public event during wartime. Shouldn't decency demand a modest ceremony followed by a dignified tribute to the troops?
As the Moose suggested, the $40 million that will pay for the good times could be diverted to the wounded and the families of those who have lost loved ones in the war. It would be a relatively modest contribution from those who have so much to those who are making the supreme sacrifice.
It shouldn't be a proper consideration, but the cancellation of the inaugural festivities would also be a political masterstroke by the President. Much more importantly, it would be exactly the right thing to do.
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