The toughest part of the job...

Click here: For Bush, War Anguish Expressed Privately - washingtonpost.com

There are plenty of perks that flow to POTUS (President Of The United States.)

He has a squadron of planes to take where he wants to go. He has dedicated staff who (usually) heed what he says. He can get elegant meals from great chefs (although President Gerald Ford --- an oft-unsung fine President --- toasted his own English Muffins in the morning.

But meeting the wives and children of men who were killed in battles under your orders, is the toughest task.

President Johnson used to meet with war widows regularly. So did President Reagan. I imagine President Nixon did too.

It is bad enough as in the case described, when the greiving widow asks you to cahnge your policy.

But I think most say to The President: "John believed in what he was doing, and why he was doing it. He would want you to continue."

Ben