PDQ - we should probably take this discussion to another forum, because it does not do Bob Hope justice, however since we started here I would like to add something.

You made a good point about one side making the personal attacks, but while it does seem to come from anonymous guests attacking the right, I don't think it is fair to say that the other guy always starts it. The problem with fanatics on the extreme of both sides is that they live in shells. They fail to look at the real world around them and TRY to figure out what makes them think the way they do. That doesn't mean you have to give up your beliefs or excuse wrong-doings. It means that you understand what makes the "other side" tick and perhaps enables you to come up with solutions.

Getting back to Bob Hope, there was a beautiful A&E Biography about the man that just finished airing. They dealt with Vietnam, and he did not make excuses for his being a "hawk".   He did try to explain that he wanted to win the war and get everyone home. That doesn't change the way I felt about the war, but I do think I understand his feelings. The bottom line is that there were HUNDERES OF THOUSANDS of soldiers who didn't want to be there either, and Hope let them know that there were people who cared about them. Cynics will say that the U.S.O. shows earned him money and benefited his career, but that is wrong. There are many other ways to do that. You don't need to spend every Christmas away from home, living in extremely dangerous conditions and chance losing it all. Hope, like Al Jolson who actually began the practice, spent time because something inside of them gave them their reason for being here on this planet. It is called service. Hope was a hero.

Loving one's country is something that both sides fight for. The left wants to make change because they feel that the ideals that built this country aren't being lived up to. The right fights to protect those same freedoms.   Both sides are closer than they think.

Thanks again Bob. You will always be a national treasure.

Ron