In Brief: What Would George Washington Think of Walter Reed Hospital?:
Here's part of the proclamation signed by the President this weekend honoring the birth of George Washington: Americans can "take pride in our stewardship of the Republic he forged. Today, he would see in America the world's foremost champion of liberty -- a Nation that stands for freedom for all, a Nation that stands with democratic reformers, and a Nation that stands up to tyranny and terror. On his 275th birthday, George Washington would see an America fulfilling the promise of her Founders, honoring the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and moving forward in the world with confidence, compassion, and strength."

Bush's proclamation speaks with almost muted admiration of Washington's under-equipped, exhausted soldiers: "Washington led his often ragged forces beyond incredible hardships into battle and on to victory." It is, of course, salve to the festering wound of Bush's treatment of soldiers now, in an America where every soldier isn't in danger of being hanged for treason if they are caught.

What would George Washington think, in this country that "stands up to tyranny and terror," with its president who evokes Washington to say that things have gotten better for the military since, say, Valley Forge? Would Washington think that the nation had advanced so far beyond frost-bitten toes if it can't even provide the most basic armor for its soldiers, if all it has to offer its wounded and maimed are vermin-infested medical centers and ill-funded and -supplied recovery programs? And let's not even get started on the whole "durable wisdom of the Constitution" part of things.

The Rude Pundit is shocked that at the moment Bush signed the proclamation, the tomb at Mount Vernon didn't burst open, allowing the zombie skeleton of the first President to hobble the fifteen miles or so to the White House, where Washington could have ripped off his left arm, smacked Bush across the face with it, and said, "You fuckin' suck," before turning around and heading back to his beloved plantation. Hell, Cheney would have probably broken Washinton's skeleton up and boiled it for a President' Day Soup, tossin' in yummy Lincoln bits for color.