An Open Letter to George Will

Dear, Mr. Will,

I had come to know you as a conservative and, up until now, honest journalist in your usual Sunday morning talk show guest appearances, but after reading your column on November 30th, 2006, "Already Too Busy For Civility", I must admit that I am very disappointed. I am, however, relieved that the wool has been further pulled from my eyes.

Your disingenuous attack on Senator-elect Webb (D-Va.) shows to the very core what you truly are: just another right-wing mouthpiece. Your characterization of Mr. Webb as a "pompous poseur and an abuser of the English language", as well as "a boor" and describing his "calculated rudeness toward another human being" made me think of one thing - you could substitute the name "Bush" for "Webb" and the description would be more accurate.

Where do you suppose this leaked story of the reception originated? If in fact it paints Mr. Webb in a bad light as you claim, then it couldn't have come from Webb's office. Does that leave the White House as the origin of the story? If so, perhaps they were hoping to perceive Bush as a caring soul victimized by Webb's ire. In this reader's opinion, it did the complete opposite and was a total misfire, as we've gotten all too accustomed from this Administration.

Bush's question, "How's your boy?", was callous - callous in the sense that Bush himself doesn't have any skin in the game. Soldiers die day after day in Iraq while his daughters cavort in Argentina. Webb's response, "I'd like to get them out of Iraq", spoke volumes. He wasn't speaking just for his son, but for all the sons and daughters serving in this ludicrous occupation for whatever the mission is this week and whatever victory Bush is trying to secure. His response was what I'm sure any parent who has a son or daughter in Iraq and had the ear of the President would say. "I'd like to get them out of Iraq."

Apparently, Bush didn't care for the answer to which he said, "That's not what I asked you" which you failed to report. I can only assume this the more accurate account since it is in every account written except yours. Then Bushed asked again. Let's get the facts straight: Bush was the one who sought out Webb. Bush asked his callous question not once, but twice after the first answer would clearly indicate that Webb would rather not want to talk about a subject that is deeply personal to him and dismissed as idle chatter. Yet Bush persisted, "I asked 'How's your boy?' ", to which Webb answered, "That's between me and my boy." In that context, the story reads very differently.

You call Webb "a boor". Didn't Vice President Cheney tell Senator Patrick Leahy to go f**k himself on the Senate floor? Wasn't President Bush the one who flipped off the cameras when preparing for a speech? We've all seen the video. Or would you prefer to categorize that display as college humor instead of boorish? That kind of behavior is unbecoming of the Presidency and the Vice Presidency.

And finally, Mr. Will, you have the audacity to give Mr. Webb a grammar lesson in the second half of your article after we've been subjected to over six years of a President who manages to butcher the English language with every other sentence he utters.

Webb's decision to decline having a picture taken with George W. Bush shows exactly what type of man he is: a person who says what he means and means what he says. My respect goes out to Mr. Webb for his resistance to hypocrisy. Respect is earned, not appointed. One must not confuse respect for the Office of the Presidency with respect for whoever holds the position.

You write: "In a republic, people decline to be led by leaders who are insufferably full of themselves." Truer words were never written.