The President

I can remember when one week after last year's election, Kerry attended the funeral of a soldier who died in Iraq. The immediate reaction of the press was almost critical towards Bush for never going to a soldier's funeral. The White House responded that the President didn't go to any funerals, because he didn't want his presence to take away from the funeral, by turning a family's private grief into a media event.

The way the press paints it, Bush doesn't care about the sacrifices families are paying for this war. Many say that he is a coward, and can't face the families of those who have lost a soldier.

And that just isn't true. The family of Clint Prather, the pilot in command of Big Windy 25, was invited to meet with the president at Ft. Bragg, and Sieg has a picture of the moment. I don't think I am being biased when I say that the president looks genuinely caring.

There are many moments that we never hear about, because the press isn't invited. I have seen the occasional photo of the president with a recovering wounded soldier at Walter Reed, but these photos are mostly hosted at private websites by friends or family of the soldiers. Bush is not doing it for the press. He is doing it for the soldiers and their families, for himself and America, and for what that moment is worth even without an audience.