From: norman byrd [mailto:nbyrd20785@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2005 2:25 PM
To: don_edwards@sra.com
Cc: oped@washpost.com
Subject: "Ten-Hut!" (Sunday, June 12, 2005)

When, after re-election, President Bush boldly declared that he had received "...a mandate from the American people..." he was foolishly led to believe that such a mandate was militaristic--- It was not!

As one of many Christian fundamentalist who voted for him (while not being particularly confident of his abilities) I can boldly declare that his mandate was not militaristic but MORALISTIC!

In my opinion, the willingness of this Administration to facilitate the type of wisdom proferred by the likes of Donald Rumsfeld has been a major cause of our recruitment difficulties.

As an ex-Marine I can assure you that the superficially macho and very Clintonian (as in Eastwood) mutterings of Mr. Rumsfeld (i.e., "You go to war with what you have..."), coupled with his apparent disregard for the many personal and financial hardships that the Iraq conflict has brought to their lives, have combined to produce a vote of "No Confidence" in the ability of this Administration to effectively oversee the forces and futures of our young men in uniform.

PostScript: Why any sane individual would receive the advice of such a one as Mr. Rumsfeld above the wisdom of a seasoned veteran (i.e., General Colin Powell), has been and will continue to be, a mystery to me!