Love the Warrior, Hate the War
Representative John Murtha quotes one of my favorites:
As President Theodore Roosevelt said, "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
[Rep. John Murtha, "It's Not the Questioning of Bush's Policy in Iraq That Brings Down Morale", The Huffington Post, 14 April 2006.]
He also suggests [in my words] a "love the warrior, hate the war" approach to the President's elective war in Iraq. I particularly relish that idea, I admit, because of my long experience with the coded message of the gung-ho group's similar "love the sinner, hate the sin" when it comes to respecting gay people. The delicious irony, of course, comes via all those little yellow "support the troops" magnetic ribbons on the rears of their SUVs, a message usually taken to mean "accept the word of the president unreservedly" rather than suggesting actual regard for the welfare of our troops. As for unquestioningly accepting the word of the President: see above.