"Tell Your Dad Not to Admit It"

I had an interesting encounter with a friendly gentleman on the North Shore of Chicago this weekend.

I had taken my family for an impromptu getaway to the windy city. We bunkered into a posh hotel on Lake Michigan in the South Loop and laid seige to several musuems on Saturday and Sunday. Sharks and dinosaurs, oh my. A very fun weekend.

On Sunday morning I took my oldest son on a quick photo tour of downtown Chicago. Big buildings - snap! Millenium Park - snap! Beaches on the North Shore - snap!

On that last stop we met a kindly older gentleman walking his dog.

He: "Would you like me to take a picture of you and your son?"

Me: "That would be great!" Snap. Snap.

Me: "We're just visiting for the weekend."

He: "That's great! Welcome to our city."

Me: "We saw the Shedd Aquarium yesterday, and are headed to the Field Musuem today."

He: "That's great! Did you get a chance to go to the anti-war rally?"

Ummmmmmmmmmm. Clearing my throat.......

Me (with a big smile): "Actually, I'm a veteran and I support President Bush and the war."

He (turning purple): "NO! Nobody supports Bush anymore!"

He (looking at my son): "Tell your Dad not to admit that to anyone else here."

Me (with a friendly wave): "Thanks for helping us out!"

And we parted with friendly grins.

I happened to be near Soldier Field later that day where the rally was apparently being held. The usual suspects assembling, as is their right. They had a nice day for a rally. I went in with my family and saw the dinosaurs and mummies.

However, I'll admit it to anyone. I support President Bush. Taking the War on Terror was the right thing to do, even with the cost. I base that on staying informed on all of the issues. If you paid close attention to the news lately you would see:

- we're meeting the milestones on establishing a Democracy in that critical region

- March's casualties were down

- Sadaam's trial is proceeding

- Iraqi towns once held by terrorists are now safer

- an Iraqi Air Force general has admitted that his men flew the WMD's into Syria before the war started

Bush, despite doing a poor job explaining it, is on the right track - my new friend in Chicago's opinion notwithstanding.

Postscript: I just finished reading Richard Miniter's book "Disinformation", which methodically knocks down 22 media myths about the war like:

- there were no WMD's in Iraq
- there were no connections between al Qaida and Iraq
- 100,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq by the U.S.
- the war was really fought for oil and Haliburton

It's a great read. Chock full of facts. I highly recommend it. You should read it, and then some of you should consider apologizing to the President.