[MM38084]

There are a number of reasons why President George W. Bush has not attended any of the funerals for members of the American military who have been killed in Iraq.

The presence of the commander in chief would create a media event, and the families may not want that. The president can't possibly attend every service, and by choosing one over another might unwittingly offend someone. There would be security concerns, and there is the practical matter of taking time away from ever-pressing presidential duties.

From a purely political standpoint, the White House obviously has no interest in calling more attention to the human cost of the war in Iraq.

All that said, he ought to go.

It is one thing to visit a military base, as Bush did Monday, or fly to Iraq on Thursday, and encourage the troops and salute the fallen. That is a fine thing for a commander in chief to do. It is quite another to sit quietly with the family of a dead soldier and learn firsthand of their loss, their pride and their grief. That is a difficult but necessary thing for a commander in chief to do, at least on occasion, if only to be reminded of the ultimate burden of the job and the ultimate price of war.

Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have found the time to fly about the country for a combined 60 political fund-raisers since June. Surely they can find some time to express personally the gratitude of the American people to the families of some of the service people who have died in this war.

"Every man and woman who wears our country's uniform is a volunteer, facing hardships and sometimes peril, because they believe in this country and our cause," Bush said Monday in a Thanksgiving message. "We're thinking of them and their families. We think of the military families that have suffered losses." Fine things to be thinking.

But actions would speak louder.


:re: