Bush planned to travel Tuesday afternoon to speak at Virginia Tech, where 32 people were gunned down in two separate attacks. He and first lady Laura Bush were to attend a campus convocation "as representatives of the entire nation," the White House said. "They will be there as the national representatives on a day that is full of sorrow for every American," she said. "He will remark about the amazing strength of the community, and I'm not just talking about the city limits of Blacksburg, but as you seen that's there's been an outpouring of support."

I don't mean to sound cynical, or to make light of the unbelievable tragedy which just occurred in Virginia, but where was this sentiment from Bush, this concern for affected communities, this very public eagerness to drop everything and attend services in front of the cameras to memorialize the dead:

Etc., etc. etc. etc.

With his approval ratings in the toilet, Bush can find the time to go to what will most assuredly be a highly publicized memorial service for the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings, but he couldn't seem to find room in his oh so busy schedule to attend even a single service memorializing any of the above massacres of Americans in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Don't get me wrong - I see nothing wrong, in and of itself, with a President attending a memorial service for victims of a tragedy like the one that just befell the students and staff at Virginia Tech - what happened there was a nightmare and I, in no way, shape or form wish to belittle that horror.

The problem I have is that equally tragic episodes have been unfolding in Iraq, on a regular basis, for years - massacre after massacre of U.S. Troops in Iraq have occurred - and Bush hasn't had the common decency and respect to attend a memorial/funeral service for even one the victims of any of those massacres.

Instead, we get public statements like this from his Administration:

Flashback to Tony Snow at the 2,500th U.S. fatality: "It’s a number, and every time there’s one of these 500 benchmarks people want something."

Bush is a disgrace. His Administration is a disagrace. His Party is a disgrace.