Gov. Ritter Embarrasses all Coloradoans

From September 16 - 20, 2008 Denver was the host city to 57 of the remaining 101 last living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. For the majority of my readers who probably don’t know what that means, it is the highest military award bestowed on an individual for valor in combat against an enemy force - in short, they are true American Heroes. These men represent all races, social classes, educational and economic strata, and deserve the utmost respect from anyone lucky enough to be in their presence. Even the President of the United States gives a Medal of Honor wearer the first salute. However, I am sad to say that Colorado’s own Governor Ritter poorly represented our grand state during the heroes’ visit. At the luncheon he attended Tuesday, prior to his arrival, he asked event staff if Presidential Candidate Barack Obama (D) could attend the luncheon. The President of the Medal of Honor Committee (also a recipient) denied the request, not wanting the convention turned into a political arena. Possibly also due to the fact that one of the attending recipients, George “Bud” Day was a P.O.W. at the “Hanoi Hilton” with Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain. Because of the denied request, Gov. Ritter got bitter, and at his mansion on Wednesday, he hosted a dinner in honor of the recipients but failed to make an appearance. And, to top it all off, he instructed his staff to call the Medal of Honor event planners to charge the heroes a general use fee for “renting” out his mansion. The blatant lack of respect for our real American Heroes by our governor disappointed me and I hope, all veterans.