The Jenna Bush controversy

I actually became aware of this story when reviewing www.huffingtonpost.com. I was performing my daily ritual of perusing some of my more heavily visited sites for the left, for my daily dose of sane topics and insane conversation. I just had to click on the story because I just knew I would find more than a few gems from the "tolerant", liberal left.

Jenna Bush was a guest on the Ellen DeGeneres show and ended up calling her Mom and Dad during the taping. The receptionist seemed a tad bit hesitant to transfer, then did. She briefly spoke with her Mom, then her Dad, who told the audience hi and said that he loved his daughter.

The response from this was hysterical, sad, and revealing all at the same time. First, I noted the typical comments on how her Dad is a murderer and a warmongerer and all of those types of comments I hear on this site, every day. Whether or not this is true is totally irrelevant. People somehow cannot distinguish the Father from the Daughter and I can never understand that. I always enjoy these type of comments because they completely miss the subject of the story: the child. It is possible to distinguish the fact that Jenna Bush is not George Bush.

I noted the comments about how "if Jenna supports the war, she should enlist" and how she is a "coward" for not serving in the military.

I have yet to see many comments or interviews that ask for her position on the war, and even if she is supportive of her father, and not the war effort, somehow this is a bad thing. I took the liberty of pointing out in a comment that if someone was a total ass in life, I would not hold it against their kids because their parent is one. Why cannot people comprehend this?

My favorite comments were the ones that dealt with her not serving in the military. I saw this quite a bit when Mitt Romney's kids spoke out in support of their Dad. The argument is pretty much as follows: If "parent" is in favor of the war, then his kids should go right out and enlist and they are terrible people for not doing so.

I recall the age of majority in this country as 18, meaning you are no longer beholden to a parent and can choose the path in life you want. So, why is it that a child of someone who supports the war MUST enlist, if that is not what they want to do? I am sure my parents wanted me to do many things, but is it a bad thing that I chose my own way in life? A parent cannot force their child to do anything, in fact a GOOD parent is one who lets them make their own decisions and supports them the best way they can. How is this even an argument?

To show you how idiotic this line of thinking is, consider the following: On December 16, 1998, Bill Clinton declared war on Iraq, "Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons [Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMDs]". (See link for audio) This became known as Operation Desert Fox. In 1999, Operation Allied Force took effect, with NATO forces (including American soldiers Clinton authorized), commenced bombing on Serbian positions in Yugoslavia. At the time of Operation Desert Fox, Chelsea Clinton was 18 and able to join the military. In 1999, she was 19.

Chelsea Clinton did not serve in the military. According to the argument used against Jenna Bush and the Romney children, this was unacceptable because President Clinton was in favor of war. I have YET to come across a story which calls Chelsea Clinton out on this. Why? Because it is a STUPID argument and has no place in political discussions. But don't tell that to the liberals who argue it.

I reviewed a couple of other videos and found this gem regarding service in the military. This genius believes that serving the country through UNICEF efforts in Latin America is a BAD thing and not a good reason to not serve in the military. I first notice that he says that as she is "so behind the war" when the question never addressed that. I then noticed he makes no mention of his service for the country in any fashion, then resorts to name calling, then he resorts to calling most of the citizens of this country a bunch of idiots.

My next favorite group of comments dealt with the fact that she is still "partying". I remember when it came out that she tried to buy alcohol while she was underage, and that she would go out and drink and have a good time in college. I would be very curious to see how many of the posters on www.huffingtonpost.com did the exact same thing in college. I went to one of the biggest party schools in college and guess what? I would see the College Democrat organization members at some of the biggest parties. I had many of them as my residents when I was a resident advisor. Some of the biggest alcohol offenders were liberal-thinking, yet back then, it was just part of the "college experience". Sure what Jenna did was dumb, but is it really a horrible thing to assert when you find no problem with it for other college students?

I also noted a few comments discussing how this is a P.R. attempt to clean up Bush's name. No facts, no proof, just another baseless accusation which has no real relevance to the story or any shred of truth at this time.

Finally, I noted the comments which said that they will no longer watch the program because of this one guest. Whatever happened to having an open mind and accepting people for their differences? Liberals on these sites claim to love openness and debate. But it appears they love openness and debate as long as it supports their position. One differing opinion, and BAM! It's no longer an option to view or listen to that source of information.