Mike Wallace Turns WWII Memorial Into Anti-Bush Bash

It was supposed to be an event where World War II-era journalists could swap war stories and bask in the glory of the soon-to-be-christened WWII memorial on Washington, D.C.'s Mall.

But it didn't take long for CBS "60 Minutes" star Mike Wallace and USA Today founder Al Neuharth, who had been invited to address the crowd, to turn Friday's WWII reminiscence into a bash-Bush rally.

Wallace began innocently enough, telling the crowd that in WWII, "We knew what we were fighting for. We knew how important it was. We loved our country. We loved our commander in chief.

"And when Pearl Harbor came and we finally got in, it was a damn good thing that we did," the veteran newsman recalled.

But then Wallace turned abruptly political:

"I look at where we are today and I say to myself, I wouldn't want to - this is not, in my estimation, a good war. ... George Washington was commander in chief and president of the United States. Franklin Roosevelt was commander in chief and president of the United States. I don't have to persuade anybody of the validity of those two guys."

But when it came to President Bush, the CBS newsman lamented:

"I don't know how we got into a position where our present commander in chief and the people around him had the guts to take our kids and send them on what seems to be - it sure is not a noble enterprise."

At that point some in the audience, annoyed at Wallace's attempt to politicize what was supposed to be a WWII commemoration, began heckling him.

USA Today's Al Neuwarth stepped in and tried to calm the waters by noting that "all wars are bad wars." But within minutes he, too, was bashing Bush.

"I'm proud of every veteran in this country who fought in any of [the wars]. That includes Iraq," Neuharth announced. "But I must agree with [Mike] - we stumbled and bumbled our way into this war."

The USA Today founder complained: "That decision was not made by the troops who are over there fighting and dying. It was made in the Oval Office. And I think it does raise a question of whether we were absolutely right when our Founding Fathers said that the president of the United States shall be the commander in chief of our military forces.

Neuharth continued:

"They were right with George Washington. He had been a military person. But I'm not sure whether a non-military commander in chief, no matter which party he's from and no matter who he or she is, has the background or the instincts to take us to war."

At that point boos again erupted from the crowd and moderator Thomas Doherty tried to get the event back on track. But it was too late for many.

Square One Media Network's Kathryn Serkes was on hand and she tells NewsMax that at least 50 attendees got up and stormed out because of Wallace and Neuharth's partisan antics.

Although the event was televised by C-SPAN, the network declined to archive the video on its Web site. NewsMax thanks Ms. Serkes for sharing her copy.

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