[HARDCORE]

"CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE!"

Granted, the amount of protection surrounding President Bush on his recent trip to Baghdad had to have been phenomenal! But just the fact that he undertook this perilous journey, be it partially political, still took a lot of guts!

Had some of the Iraqis known that he was on the way, they most likely would have initiated a nasty welcoming committee, which in turn, could have resulted in a deadly response by our side!? ?Dangerous Indeed!!?

Back during the Korean War, Eisenhower openly touted a trip to Korea to try and put an end to the hostilities there! And John F. Kennedy?s - "All Assets At The Ready? response to those Russian Missiles of October, certainly spoke highly of that man too!

?The courage often displayed by our people, is not a political thing, but rather an American thing!? It was there when the Pilgrims ventured forth into a strange (and dangerous) new land. It was there when we challenged the mighty British Empire for our right to Freedom and Liberty. And it was there when men and women set foot atop those thunderous missiles for trips (many of them their last) into the unknown!

Granted again, true grit (courage) is present in many men and women, and altogether absent in others!? But men and women like Abe Lincoln, Mary Walker, Alvin York, Alan Shepard, or the plethora of other courageously anonymous guy and gal, who champion a noble cause, possess it in abundance! These people have proven that courage is a trait that many in humanity embrace, even while others cower - seeking instead to strike forth from out of the darkness, or to remain apathetic or remain hidden within the shadows!

What President Bush did recently, regardless of your opinion of the man, his abilities, or his political party (during his Thanksgiving journey into Iraq to be with our troops), certainly paled his landing aboard a U.S. Carrier in safe waters! And for this gesture in Iraq, he is to be genuinely applauded!

VERITAS