Gregory Meeks: “I rise this morning wondering where is the Commander in Chief? Our wartime President is missing in action. Our troops…”

“I rise this morning wondering where is the Commander in Chief? Our wartime President is missing in action. Our troops are being killed because of a lack of proper planning; and as one of the worst scandals involving our military is uncovered, George W. Bush is in Ohio flipping pancakes, and in Michigan, of all places, riding in a $1 million bus made in Canada. Where is our leadership from our President? It is AWOL. As the Bush campaign smear machine continues to attack and distort John Kerry's decorated Vietnam service record, which includes a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts, George Bush wants the American people to believe that he actually has a military record to be proud of. That is as believable as when the Commander in Chief landed on the deck of an aircraft carrier pretending to be a soldier. Perhaps the President's smear machine can explain where George Bush was the year he was missing during his military service, and his clear absence of leadership as a President, instead of cooking up phoney attacks on a decorated war hero like John Kerry.”