Every once in a while, I like to deconstruct and look at the personalities behind liberal letters to the editor in the NY Times. Today's subject is the following letter by Nita Martin.

For two years we have heard Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and President Bush ignore, distort or trivialize American casualties in Iraq. With Wednesday's loss of 31 in a single incident, you would think there would be some sign of empathy. Instead, Mr. Bush brushed it off and turned his brief and vague reference to mourning the loss of life into a platform for more hollow "freedom" rhetoric (front page, Jan. 27).

He actually had the ego and the bad taste to say, "I firmly planted the flag of liberty in Iraq." He didn't say "they"; he didn't say "we."

The president has planted nothing but the bodies of 1,377 Americans. They are heroes. As the mother of a marine in Rutba, I wish he would just once consider acknowledging their enormous sacrifice, rather than aggrandizing himself.

First, about the author. Nita Martin, the mother of at least one soldier in Iraq, was very active in John Kerry's campaign as one of the "Moms with a Mission". Part of her distaste for President Bush may come from her belief that her child(ren) are not properly equipped.

Nita Martin told reporters how the second of her two Marine sons to fight in Iraq had to spend his own money to buy an expensive helmet before he left - because the ones issued by the Pentagon don't stop bullets from an AK-47.

One blogger doesn't buy her story.



Anyway, back to the letter. We can pass by the improbability of being able to hear someone ignore something, and the dubious statement that the President has either distorted or trivialized the sacrifices of our soldiers in Iraq.

Instead I'll adress her problem with the President's ego when he said, "I firmly planted the flag of liberty in Iraq."

First of all, he probably used the first person as he was answering a question at a press conference that was addressed to him as an individual - "Mr. President, Senator Ted Kennedy recently repeated his characterization of Iraq as a "quagmire" and has called it your Vietnam.....And what kind of an effect do you think these statements have on the morale of our troops and on the confidence of the Iraqi people that what you're trying to do over there is going to succeed?"

To me, this only goes to show that the president's critics and the press characterize this as Bush's war to begin with, and not "our war".

Secondly, let's count how many times in that same press conference that the President uses the word "we".

We continue to offer our condolences and prayers for those who do suffer.

We'll honor the memories of their loved ones by completing our missions.

We anticipate a lot of Iraqis will vote.

My inaugural address reflected the policies of the past four years that said -- that we're implementing in Afghanistan and Iraq.

And I believe this country is best when it heads toward an ideal world. We are at our best. And in doing so, we're reflecting universal values and universal ideas that honor each man and woman, that recognize human rights and human dignity depends upon human liberty.

But we expect nations to adopt the values inherent in a democracy...

Now, nevertheless, we have spoken out in the past and we'll continue to speak out for human rights and human dignity, and the right for people to express themselves in the public square.

We look forward to working to make sure the Iraqis have got a democracy. We look forward to continuing to make sure Afghanistan is as secure as possible from potential Taliban resurgence. We look forward to spreading freedom around the world. And she is going to make a wonderful Secretary of State.

And, obviously, any time we lose life it is a sad moment. (Not "someone".)

OK - I think you get the idea. Taking one phrase spoken by a President (not known for his speaking proficiency) at an unscripted event out of context is mean-spirited at best.