THE PRESIDENT VISITS ELMENDORF

Marlene and I were two of the 1,000 civilians and 4,000 military to greet President Bush at his stopover today at Elmendorf AFB enroute to South Korea, China, and Mongolia (where my son Bob Jr. serves in the US Foreign Service).

President Bush gave a headliner speech on the "War on Terror." He received a tremendous ovation by the troops and everyone else. The president projected an outstanding aura of leadership. Later he met personally and privately with families of Alaskans who lost their lives serving America in Iraq, including the family of a Marine from our House District 31.

Along with a small group of other legislators from around the nation, I had an opportunity to meet the president in the White House a couple years ago. He spoke quietly and elegantly at that time of our troops in Iraq, and when he spoke of how he was "heartbroken" when a soldier's was lost his eyes were visably moist. I'll never forget that.