An open letter to the Bush twins

[rullery]

Dear Barbara and Jenna,

First let me offer congratulations on your recent college graduations. I understand that you both are planning to appear with your Daddy on the campaign trail. But I have been wondering why we have not heard about your plans to join the military services?

Now that you are college graduates, you could apply for Officers Candidate School and earn commissions as officers. That way you would not have to associate too much with the enlisted men and women. Many young people do not have the advantages that you enjoy, and the only way they can afford to go to college is to enlist in one of the military services and earn college tuition. Forty years ago that is what I did. People like Jessica Lynch joined the Army so that they would be able to go to college.

When your dear Daddy decided to go to war against Iraq, based on faulty information that Saddam Hussein had WMD that he was planning to use against us, many young people were sent into harm's way to fight your Daddy's war. So far nearly 1000 of our military have died in Iraq, and thousands of others, like Jessica Lynch, have been maimed.

Some people claim that your Daddy is not much concerned about this, because the people being sent to Iraq to fight the war are not of his social class. Indeed we hear that he has yet to attend the funeral of even one of the brave men and women who have lost their lives in Iraq. It is even claimed that your Daddy used political influence to gain a spot in the Texas Air National Guard in order to avoid going to war in Vietnam.

Now your Daddy is running for President against John Kerry, who not only went to Vietnam to fight, but volunteered for some of the most dangerous duty there. Don't you think that the best way you young ladies could help your Daddy, to prove that the Bush family are not all cowards, would be to join the military yourselves? Chances are the Secret Service would keep you both safe from really dangerous duty, unlike ordinary soldiers. Still you would gain approval from all Americans for showing that the Bush daughters are brave enough to serve in the military during the Iraq War.

So I call on you, Barbara and Jenna, to enlist now, and maybe announce this at the Republican National Convention this week! Good luck to both of you young ladies.

Sincerely yours,

R. Ullery