Military Bloggers Meet the President

Posted By Blackfive

Note:  Just got back from the East Coast, hadn't had time to put my notes together in a post about the meeting.

A lot of people have asked how our meeting came to be.  I have my suspicions, and, frankly, I think that the White House has some very "new media" savy people that convinced the President to meet with us.

All I know is that I was sitting with Steve Shippert (also blogs at the Tank), CJ from ASP and They Have Names, Mohammed from Iraq The Model, Mrs. Greyhawk from Mudville Gazette, Ward Carroll of Military.com, John Donovan of Castle Argghhh!, and NZ Bear from the Victory Caucus and the Truth Laid Bear.  Aside from NZ and the President, I had met everyone at the table before.

The President walks in, unannounced, and shakes our hands.  We are joined by the War Czar - LTG Doug Lute, Outgoing Spokesperson - Tony Snow, Incoming Spokesperson - Dana Perino, White House Communications Director - Kevin Sullivan,...the National Security Advisor, Stephen Hadley, just checked in on the meeting but didn't stick around.

The President of the United States greeted each of us.  He asked, "How are you doing, Matt?"

I mumbled something unintelligible about being "Good! And how are you, Sir?"...

We were seated in the Roosevelt Room and had a video conference hook up to Camp Victory where Bill Roggio and Bill Ardolino joined us.  This is their view (me, Steve, George, and CJ, Mohammed, Ward)...courtesy of Bill Ardolino's INDC In Iraq Journal:

This White House photo (below) is the President chastising the twin Bills for not wearing ties to a meeting that clearly had "Business Attire" stated on the invitation...then admitting that he wished he could run around in a t-shirt and not shave.  Actually, the President has a pretty good sense of humor.

The President began with a talk about his speech the night before.  First of all, the President owned the Surge strategy.  Then, he also owned up to the fact that if he did a better job communicating about the war, military bloggers might not be needed.  I was surprised that he said it.  And he is correct.

Bill Roggio, appropriately, got the first shot at a question.

...With the current blurring of the lines between domestic politics and foreign policy, and the unwillingness of the American people to fight the current war, how do you get the American public to support the current and future conflicts?...

Click here to see the President's response.

Then, Bill Ardolino was next and asked about Anbar:

...What influence or leverage is being applied with the national Iraqi government to ensure that such assistance is delivered to the province?...

Bill blogged his question and the President's answer here.

The President talked about how Ambassador Crocker delivered a message to the Iranians that we would defend ourselves.  On the media, he stated that he likes the media but said that he should be the target of the politicians and the media, not the soldiers.  He was clearly frustrated that the our soldiers and General Petraeus were in the crosshairs.

Ward Carroll of Military.com asked about volunteerism.

...I started by telling President Bush that I had spent Tuesday morning watching the original 9-11 "Today Show" broadcast in real time and that the experience had left me, among other thoughts and emotions, wondering whether his petition to the nation had been strong enough in terms of calling citizens to duty...

You can read the answer here.

John Donovan mentioned his Congresswoman, talked about the war, and had an exchange with the President.

Me? I started by saying that PMI and Blackfive were sending bloggers to Iraq and embedding one that very day in the Phillipines.  The President chuckled, said to LTG Lute, "Milbloggers in the Phillipines!" and then let me finish my question which was "In your opinion, where else can bloggers go to tell the stories that aren't getting told?"  The President said that there were a lot of places in the fight that we couldn't go (Security, Mission Classification etc.) but he and LTG Lute did say, even encouraged us, to go to the Horn of Africa.  So, maybe that'll be next (we have one more on the way to Iraq - today).

NZ talked about the Petition to support General Petraeus (versus the MoveOn.org types) and how much support it had generated.  I think that even the President was surprised.

CJ from ASP, in an emotional exchange with the President, talked about the three good friends he lost in Iraq - one right in front of him.  CJ saw some serious combat and it's included in the Blog of War.  He wanted to make sure that they didn't die in vain.

One last thing, when the President talked about his father George HW Bush, he definitely got a tear in his eye.  CJ noticed it too.  I am an admirer of 41 - before, during, and after his Presidency (Airborne, Mr. President!) - and could tell that his son certainly admired him greatly, too.

Leaving the room.  After an hour or so, the President said we needed to get moving because he had to be at the Marine OCS Commissioning Ceremony to talk to the new Lieutenants who signed up knowing full well that they'll be in combat soon.  You should have seen the look in his eye when he said that...he was obviously feeling proud of them and responsible for them.

So, we walk into the Oval Office and take pictures with the President and shake hands with Tony Snow, Dana Perino, and Kevin Sullivan.

The President hands each of us a Presidential Coin.  I say something to him and he grabs my arm and says "Thank you!" for the tenth time...and he departs.

The President walked out to Marine Corps One, met by an entourage of staffers and observed by the Press.

Eventually, we left the White House and went our separate ways...I posted this at Dulles while waiting for my flight to board.

The WashPo followed up with two pieces here and here.  My post gets quoted because I typed it up at the airport before boarding a plane to Chicago...and, predictably, the left went nuts about this.  Here's some email I have received.  Just a taste 'cause some of it is not even R rated.

...you have been working furiously to sell his colonialism and war crimes in Iraq, and have likely been an active participant in the subjugation of the Iraqi people.

And

...you have shown that you are a traitor and a bootlicking scumbag who thrills at the suffering of soldiers and their families.

And now in order to get more hatemail, here's the shot sure to set the left off into a frenzy of keyboard threats and digital death wishes:

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Comments

[Gryph]

Hey! Where is the mint green shirt?

It occured to me that there a few others places in the war on terror that milbloggers should embed in.

Congress and the Pentagon. Right now milbloggers tend to react to what actions Congress and the Pentagon take. It would be good to have some people inside the system to report on the decision antics that lead up to those actions.

[FbL]

Matt in a suit!!

*faints in shock*

Having only seen you in what could charitably be called "business casual," I have to say you clean up nice, Matt. ;)

[Old Tanker]

Nice "bootlickin'" photo :-)

Could you imagine the reaction if that was Uncle J!!

[Teresa]

"Hey! Where is the mint green shirt?"

Gryph - I asked that in the first post... *grin*

That was excellent Matt - terrific pics too. You look great! Now that the President has admitted he should have been talking more - not leaving it to the bloggers, I hope he does.

However, you all have done such an exceptional job this is a well deserved honor. And the left going nutso over it - even better.

[Some Soldier's Mom]

they're just jealous, Matt (the ones calling you names). ya dun good, kid.

[Zero Ponsdorf]

I'm a bit jealous. Some of us only had breakfast on the south lawn Tuesday. [grin]

[defendusa]

Matt,
Perhaps you should scroll down to Uncle Jimbo's post about Screaming Monkey Syndrome(I'm not partial :) ... copy and paste it to all the screechers. You guys have done a superb job in all realms of military blogging and you deserve all the recognition you got, especially if it means the President was willing to have a chat with you. The leftist trolls would have ended up needing strait-jackets upon removal for their inability to see sincerity vs. the power-hungry nazi killer they prefer in their world view. Yep, go figger.

[johnston45]

OMG, you lucky man! What a glorious photo!! You've done a wonderful job and deserve your time in the presence of The Man.
Any 8 X 10 glossies available for purchase? :)

[jordan]

The media critiques of your meeting so typified everything that's wrong with journalism today. They always require an instant, adversarial stance for anyone covering the President. You must be critical and down-putting at all times, whether you agree with what he says or not. If he says the sky is blue, you should write, "...but he has no evidence, and has lots of reasons to lie about it. And Halliburton!"

If you're not mindlessly critical, you're biased and spewing propaganda for the Administration. If you simply report the facts of what happened, you've "sold out". It's ass-backwards journalism today's media is practicing, and it's responsible for alot more malaise in this society than we credit them for. But rather than just complain, congratulations on being invited to pow-wow with the bigwigs -- well deserved.

[David]

Hey, I susport the troops and their mission. How come I don't get any nifty hate mail. I am so jealous.

Good job here Matt.

[Deebow]

Good to see you Matt and I gotta say WOW! on the hate-mail. That is truly some fantastic stuff right there.

Next thing you know you will be officially invited to be part of the right-wing hate machine that is controlled by Bushitler and the evil Darth Cheney and the Halliburton/Dynacorp/Big Oil Cabal.

Man, would I have liked to have been there. You are one lucky dog. Keep the faith brother and thanks for letting me help spread the word.

[Cincinnati_Bob]

Matt, thanks for the follow up.

On the hatemail - By my experience talking to lunatics in cyberspace - there is no-one more incensed than someone fearful of being drug from their fantasy world kicking and screaming.

[Cannoneer No4]

That was a real loya jirga of IO Warlords.
Now, the milblogosphere has somebody in the White House lurking. I propose that we make good use of that attention span window while we have it to raise the issues we feel are being inadequately addressed.

Then, he also owned up to the fact that if he did a better job communicating about the war, military bloggers might not be needed. I was surprised that he said it. And he is correct.

He is correct, but he came to the realization too late. If tomorrow he started spouting Churchillian oratory, only half the American people would give him a hearing. He only has 16 months left. How do sympathetic bloggers support the nation's Strategic Communications Plan? What IS the nation's Strategic Communications Plan?

Thanks, Matt, for giving us this conduit.

[AWTM]

Mr. Blackfive,

Fantastic photos for the family album indeed. You must make copies to send with boyfive for show and tell.

Also on a side note, I thought W would be taller....

Oh I am kidding, calm down already...

What a fantastic honor indeed!

[jerry4837]

Hahahahahahahahahaha,

Blackfive - nothing more than a conduit for government propaganda, you must be so proud, imagine getting to meet the least popular president in half a century, oh the honor LMAO

[dianainsa]

Outstanding! And you've done a good job of aggravating the nutbags.
Kidding aside, I too would like to know what their strategic communications plan is-especially since they (hopefully)realise that the media isn't going to get the good news out for them.
God forbid there is a next time, but the people in charge need to do better. They would have been totally screwed if it hadn't been for the bloggers.

[Francis Marion]

The President chuckled, said to LTG Lute, "Milbloggers in the Phillipines!"

HEY!!!!! This Milblogger spent nearly 9 months in the Philippines!

[Terri]

Fantastic job Matt! CJ didn't post his recollections on ASP, however he did email the information out to some of us. I posted his story here, http://soldiersmind.com/2007/09/16/why-it-pays-to-be-a-texas-boy/ and they posted it over at Tanker Brothers as well. You all did great and made History at the same time. Job well done to all of you!

[Rich Casebolt]

Matt ...

After seeing Mrs. Greyhawk's report on the meeting, I went over and took a look at the comments section of that WaPo article.

Normally, as y'all know, the rantings of the useful idiots have the same effect on me as waving red meat in front of a rottweiler ... but not this time.

The sheer, obstinate stupidity looked so much like maggots covering a piece of rotted meat, this doggie turned up his nose at it and left.

Froomkin and his commentariat are so far gone, they aren't worth the effort. Mark the site as a candidate for a Superfund cleanup, and Move Forward ... not just On.

*********************

Hahahahahahahahahaha,

jerry4837 - nothing more than a parrot for George Soros, you must be so proud of your "intelligence", imagine getting to live in a Third World nation if you get your way, oh the enlightenment LMAO

You should be thankful that Matt and others are standing in the way of what you think you want.

We won't be fooled again ...

[rick554]

GRYPH has a very interesting idea. Some bloggers deep in the belly of the beast , as it were.
There is a LT (USNR)currently serving in Iraq who some of us are going to beg, plead, cajole, (draft?), to run for the seat curently "occupied" by D Kucinich (Moveon.Dem). I say that next year we turn Congress into the next Anbar Province.
Well done B5 and keep up the good work! Me and GWB waved at each other twice and my Son met him on AF 1 . He's a good Man , Too bad he cant run AGAIN!
God bless our TROOPS!

[Laurie]

Outstanding, I'm so proud of you all :)

[dellbabe68]

We are all so proud of you!!! Thanks, Matt, for all your work, and thanks to all the posters, too. I'm so glad you guys exist.

[warvet48]

Bravo Zulu B5 Bravo Zulu. All the hatemail just means you're hitting them where it hurts and with the truth!!!

[Cassandra]

Looking sharp as usual, Matt :)

No one deserves it more than you guys. You did the blogosphere proud.

[MsUnderestimated]

God bless you, Matt... You and all the BlackFive bloggers keep doing what you're doing.

Much love,
Ms.U

[Homefront Six]

Matt ~ your coin beats mine ;) I am in awe of you and thrilled just to be able to say I know you!

[Rich Casebolt]

It would be good to have some people inside the system to report on the decision antics that lead up to those actions.

The problem, Gryph, is that it is not in the interest of the Congresscritters to let that happen.

As a result, those antics -- or as some would say, "sausage recipes" -- are better protected by Congress from such a detailed level of disclosure, than Top Secret national-security information.

Getting the embeds close enough to see what is going on, then getting them out to let us know, would be a real challenge.