Letter from Michael Moore to Mr. Bush

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Letter from Michael Moore to Mr. Bush
81
Fri, 08-27-2004 - 3:36pm


August 26, 2004

It Takes Real Courage to Desert Your Post and Then Attack a Wounded Vet

Dear Mr. Bush,

I know you and I have had our differences in the past, and I realize I am the one who started this whole mess about "who did what" during Vietnam when I brought up that "deserter" nonsense back in January. But I have to hand it to you on what you have uncovered about John Kerry and his record in Vietnam. Kerry has tried to pass himself off as a war hero, but thanks to you and your friends, we now know the truth.

First of all, thank you for pointing out to all of us that Mr. Kerry was never struck by a BULLET. It was only SHRAPNEL that entered his body! I did not know that! Hell, what's the big deal about a bunch of large, sharp, metal shards ripping open your flesh? That happens to all of us! In my opinion, if you want a purple heart, you'd better be hit with a bullet -- with your name on it!

Secondly, thank you for sending Bob Dole out there and letting us know that Mr. Kerry, though wounded three times, actually "never spilled blood." When you are in the debates with Kerry, turn to him and say, "Dammit, Mr. Kerry, next time you want a purple heart, you better spill some American red blood! And I don't mean a few specks like those on O.J.'s socks -- we want to see a good pint or two of blood for each medal. In fact, I would have preferred that you had bled profusely, a big geyser of blood spewing out of your neck or something!" Then throw this one at him: "Senator Kerry, over 58,000 brave Americans gave their lives in Vietnam -- but YOU didn't. You only got WOUNDED! What do you have to say for yourself???" Lay that one on him and he won't know what to do.

And thanks, also, Mr. Bush, for exposing the fact that Mr. Kerry might have actually WOUNDED HIMSELF in order to get those shiny medals. Of course he did! How could the Viet Cong have hit him -- he was on a SWIFT boat! He was going too fast to be hit by enemy fire. He tried to blow himself up three different times just so he could go home and run for president someday. It's all so easy to see, now, what he was up to.

What would we do without you, Mr. Bush? Criticize you as we might, when it comes to pointing out other men's military records, there is no one who can touch your prowess. In 2000, you let out the rumor that your opponent John McCain might be "nuts" from the 5 years he spent in a POW camp. Then, in the 2002 elections, your team compared triple-amputee Sen. Max Cleland to Osama bin Laden, and that cost him the election. And now you are having the same impact on war hero John Kerry. Since you (oops, I mean "The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth!") started running those ads, Kerry's polls numbers have dropped (with veterans, he has lost 18 points in the last few weeks).

Some people have said "Who are you, Mr. Bush, to attack these brave men considering you yourself have never seen combat -- in fact, you actively sought to avoid it." What your critics fail to understand is that even though your dad got you into a unit that would never be sent to Vietnam -- and even though you didn't show up for Guard duty for at least a year -- at least you were still IN FAVOR of the Vietnam War! Cowards like Clinton felt it was more important to be consistent (he opposed the war, thus he refused to go) than to be patriotic and two-faced.

The reason that I think you know so much about other men's war wounds is because, during your time you in the Texas Air National Guard, you suffered so many of them yourself. Consider the paper cut you received on September 22, 1972, while stationed in Alabama, working on a Senate campaign for your dad's friend (when you were supposed to be on the Guard base). A campaign brochure appeared from nowhere, ambushing your right index finger, and blood trickled out onto your brand new argyle sweater.

Then there was the incident with the Crazy Glue when your fraternity brothers visited you one weekend at the base and glued your lips together while you were "passed out." Though initially considered "friendly fire," it was later ruled that you suffered severe post traumatic stress disorder from the assault and required certain medicinal attention -- which, it seems, was provided by those same fraternity brethren.

But nothing matched your heroism when, on July 2, 1969, you sustained a massive head injury when enemy combatants from another Guard unit dropped a keg of Coors on your head during a reconnaissance mission at a nearby all-girls college. Fortunately, the cool, smooth fluids that poured out of the keg were exactly what was needed to revive you.

That you never got a purple heart for any of these incidents is a shame. I can fully appreciate your anger at Senator Kerry for the three he received. I mean, Kerry was a man of privilege, he could have gotten out just like you. Instead, he thinks he's going to gain points with the American people bragging about how he was getting shot at every day in the Mekong Delta. Ha! Is that the best he can do? Hell, I hear gunfire every night outside my apartment window! If he thinks he is going to impress anyone with the fact that he volunteered to go when he could have spent the Vietnam years on the family yacht, he should think again. That only shows how stupid he was! True-blue Americans want a president who knows how to pull strings and work the system and get away with doing as little work as possible!

So, to make it up to you, I have written some new ads you can use on TV. People will soon tire of the swift boat veterans and you are going to need some fresh, punchier material. Feel free to use any of these:

ANNOUNCER: "When the bullets were flying all around him in Vietnam, what did John Kerry do? He said he leaned over the boat and 'pulled a man out of the river.' But, as we all know, men don't live in the river -- fish do. John Kerry knows how to tell a big fish tale. What he won't tell you is that when the enemy was shooting at him, he ducked. Do you want a president who will duck? Vote Bush."

ANNOUNCER: "Mr. Kerry's biggest supporter, Sen. Max Cleland, claims to have lost two legs and an arm in Vietnam. But he still has one arm! How did that happen? One word: Cowardice. When duty called, he was unwilling to give his last limb. Is that the type of selfishness you want hanging out in the White House? We think not. Vote for the man who would be willing to give America his right frontal lobe. Vote Bush."

Hope these help, Mr. Bush. And remember, when the American death toll in Iraq hits 1,000 during the Republican convention, be sure to question whether those who died really did indeed "die" -- or were they just trying to get their face on CNN's nightly tribute to fallen heroes? The sixteen who've died so far this week were probably working hand in hand with the Kerry campaign to ruin your good time in New York. Stay consistent, sir, and always, ALWAYS question the veracity of anyone who risks their life for this country. It's the least they deserve.

Yours,

Michael Moore

mmflint@aol.com

www.michaelmoore.com

P.S. George, I know you said you don't read the newspaper, but USA Today has given me credentials to the Republican convention to write a guest column each day next week (Tues.-Fri.). If you don't want to read it, you and I will be in the same building so maybe I could come by and read it to you? Lemme know...

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-21-2004
Sun, 08-29-2004 - 4:27pm
So the 7 minutes really wasn't 7 minutes? I don't see your point. He sat in that classroom knowing our country had been attacked. For seven minutes. That is really a long time considering the circumstances. MM is a master and I admire his guts to get out there and say what most people are afraid to.

Donna

Donna
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-27-2004
Sun, 08-29-2004 - 8:33pm
MM IS a master at redirecting the truth to spin his opinion to the masses...when it is edited in a certain way he makes 7 minutes LOOK like 7 hours...I have not HEARD him say what other people won't he EDITS it...He was booed at the last awards where he actually opened his mouth. I think he is a coward and hides behind edited material.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-21-2004
Sun, 08-29-2004 - 8:45pm

Things may be taken out of context but are you saying the things he filmed people saying and doing did not happen at all? Please!


He was also cheered by many at the same awards ceremony. If he was a coward he would never have the moxy to make a film saying what he thinks as well as he does. He says tand shows things most will never say even if they wanted to.

Donna

Donna
Avatar for papparic
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sun, 08-29-2004 - 9:02pm
Please clarify. Your newsclip appears to say that Pres. Bush supports the efforts of the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth". When Cleland tried to deliver his letter to Bush he was rebuffed with a letter of response that implies Kerry is inproperly using his service record. Who wrote this letter of rebuff? Did Bush approve of this letter of response (seeing as how it was formulated by someone on his ranch)?
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-27-2004
Sun, 08-29-2004 - 9:06pm
Not at all..everything he USED was a factual event, but in the course of editing he distorts those very facts. We will not agree on this issue that is for sure. I think he is a huge coward. The very fact that he does not "speak" with the issues and has to use others to spin his opinion is huge. He USED our senator to get a point across that he never said or did.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-21-2004
Sun, 08-29-2004 - 9:14pm

But our senator did actually say those things he said in the movie. They were not dreamed up or made up. It may have been put in a context you didn't like or he didn't like but the fact remains he did say those things.

Donna

Donna
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-27-2004
Sun, 08-29-2004 - 10:54pm
Are we talking about the same senator?? Where are you from??
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-21-2004
Sun, 08-29-2004 - 11:09pm

Yes, Washington State.

Donna

Donna
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 08-30-2004 - 8:37am
Yes of cóurse the 7 minutes were 7 minutes (remember that nifty little digital clock bottom-left?). FYI, I néver denied MM's editing skills! My beef re MM is in his MO. (you can look up my POV in

Djie

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-21-2004
Mon, 08-30-2004 - 9:29am
<Did it ever even enter your mind that after learning about the first plane hit the WTC (before entering the classroom), some 'protocol/scenario' might have already been set in motion?>

Of course, but why would he continue to sit there and not excuse himself because the country needed him. This was not a time to be overly polite. This was a national emergency.


I love the sarcasm of MM. It mirrors my own in many ways. I love that he had the guts, the courage and the talent to make that movie at a perfect time, during an election year when it was so needed.

Donna

Pages