Theodore's World

Respect for the Office of the President is always there but not necessarily for the person holding the office. Respect for the person has to be earned. GW Bush had the respect, love, and devotion of the armed forces because he earned it and he didn't do it by words.

I initially served under LBJ. In Vietnam there was very little respect for him. We wondered why we were in a war that we were not allowed to win. Later I served under Nixon. We still were not allowed to win until reelection time came up. Then Operation Linbacker, the bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong, was put in place. We wondered why Nixon didn't do this over three years earlier.

George W Bush was liked by the military because he showed them respect and honored them. However I wonder what today's situation would be if on 9/12/2001 Bush had ordered a cruise missle with a one ton warhead to destroy the muzzie cube at mecca.

Today no one associated with the military has much if any respect for obama. My guess is that the military and vets will be looking favorably at Perry.

BobF makes the clear and essential distinction between the perpetual office and the fleeting individual that only holds that office temporarily.

This is part of how institutions within our republic are preserved. We don't have coup d'états.

We in America are governed by law and not by men. We have an enduring constitution we respect. We wait out four years. This distinguishes us from much of the world.

Democrats make a very big deal about civilian authority over the Pentagon because far too many of them look down with disdain and some even hate the military, its great history and heritage, those noble who serve, and wish it all simply didn't even exist. So sick and living in the clouds are they.

Personally I think the age requirement of 35 years is not enough. Qualification should include past military service. No candidate for President, no Commander in Chief should even be considered for such high office unless having had worn an American military uniform in his youth.

Anyhow, as for the current clueless Commander in Chief, there is this humor oft repeated whenever there's a Democrat in the White House like him or Clinton or Carter when troop morale is so damagingly low.

The individual private Pentagon offices of the top brass, generals and admirals, are appointed spartan and all pretty much the same with government issue including a framed picture of the current President of the United States hanging on a wall within the office as well as a standard government issued 7-foot tall coat rack tree with metal hooks at the top where they hang their coat and cap every morning reporting for duty.

It's not an uncommon practice for the top brass to position the wooden rack in such a way as when seated behind his/her desk the view of that picture is obscured.

I've witnessed this myself.

The stars and stripes forever !

When Bill Clinton first became president, he visited an aircraft carrier wearing a flight jacket. The Seaman aboard the carrier laughed at him. After that incident, we were issued orders not to make fun of the president if he's on your instillation. Never in 26 years of active duty military service had I ever seen that before.

Bob, exactly, the office itself is respected not always the person in it.

Thanks for sharing too about Bill Clinton and the aircraft carrier.

Tom, thank you so much for sharing all of that. It is amazing how little it would have taken for those presidents, LBJ and Nixon, to just say to the military to do the job they were trained to do instead of the political bs running the Vietnam war. Our troops won but not the politicans that's for sure.

Carlos, that was great, thank you so much for all you wrote.