Bush/Webb "spat" has another layer

Even though conservatives are trying to make Senator-elect Jim Webb look bad after his recent verbal joust with President Bush, as usual, there is more to the story. Turns out, President Bush was warned to steer clear of the topic because Webb's son had just had a close call in Iraq and probably wasn't up to chit chat about it. In fact, Webb tried to be the gentleman in the situation and avoided the receiving line so he didn't have to talk to President Bush about Iraq at all.

But President Bush sought him out and brought up the subject anyway. And he got what he deserved. Eleanor Clift sums it up nicely:

It’s justice long overdue for a president who has so abused the symbols of war to get his comeuppance from a battlefield hero who personifies real toughness as opposed to fake toughness. Bush struts around with this bullying frat-boy attitude, and he gets away with it because nobody stands up to him. Bush could have left Webb’s initial response stand, but no, he had to jab back—“That’s not what I asked you.” Webb is not one to be bullied. He knows what real toughness is, and it’s not lording it over people who are weaker than you, and if you’re president, everybody by definition is weaker.

You can find the rest of Clift's article here.