More from Matt Damon on Hardball with Chris Matthews
Matt Damon did the College Tour at George Mason University in northern Virginia for MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews. The transcript is out. Here are more quotes on our topic:MATTHEWS: Do you think if you waterboarded Cheney, like in the movie, that you’d get a different truth out of him?
DAMON: Well, there’s two answers to that question. One is he doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who has any real personal courage. When it was his turn to go, he didn’t go. He deferred six times.
MATTHEWS: He said he had other priorities.
DAMON: Yes, he had other priorities. And he doesn’t seem to have other priorities about sending other kids there and other peoples kids.
(APPLAUSE)
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QUESTION FROM STUDENT: I was just wondering, would either of you go to war right now? Not right now, I guess, but would you go to war if you were us?
DE NIRO: Well that’s such a complex question.
(LAUGHTER)
MATTHEWS: If you were drafted?
DE NIRO: Well, I don’t know, that’s another thing about the draft and so on, if it ever would come up again. I mean, I was for going to Iraq originally and then I saw, I realized that when we went in we didn’t know how to deal with it once we were there. We just thought they’d all cheer us and we’d be out and then they’d want Democracy. We’re dealing with—we were just talking about before—the thousands of years old cultures that have all their in-fighting, whatever. I mean, we can’t come in unless we have a real plan or strategy and I never thought that.
DAMON: There is this great book that just came out about that called “Imperial Life in the Emerald City.” That’s definitely a book worth reading, just about that. We kind of blundered in there with the best intentions, but nevertheless without a plan. So, but in terms of your question, I agree with Bob that it’s a complex question. It would depend on certain situations. I don’t think that it’s fair, as I said before that it seems that we have a fighting class in our country that’s comprised of people who have to go for either financial reasons or you know, I don’t think that that is fair. And if you’re going to send people to war, if we all get together and decide we need to go to war, then that needs to be shared by everybody, you know. And if the president has daughters who are of age, then maybe they should go to. [emphasis added.]
(APPLAUSE)
[OYE Comment] OK, Matt Damon. You're eligible to serve. Now that the loyal opposition is poised to take over the Legislative Branch of our government, have you considered volunteering for military service?
posted by Karl @ 12/23/2006 07:43:00 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Does he need to volunteer if he doesn't support this fiasco? Pat Tillman went and look what happened to him.
I'm past the cutoff myself, but even if I wasn't, that wouldn't motivate me to enlist. I think that would just encourage the warheads in power if we had a surge (sorry) of new recruits.
paul-
Thank you for your comment.
If Matt Damon is going to publicly urge President Bush to encourage Jenna and not-Jenna at least to consider volunteering for military service, Matt Damon must prepare for the same question, i.e., has he at least considered doing the same thing himself. This is independent of his position on the war, whatever that is. [I couldn't find anything specific on the transcript.]
As of January 3, 2007, the loyal opposition takes control of the Legislative Branch of our government. The future of America will no longer be one party's responsibility.
The lack of a "surge" of new recruits would say a lot about the American people's confidence in our government's ability to achieve success in Iraq.
The new leadership in Congress, along with their supporters, will have to share responsibility for our nation's future involvement in Iraq. If both parties cannot convince even their strongest supporters to volunteer, then is there any option other than a prompt withdrawal?
Let's face it: We broke it; we own it. The American people did the right thing on November 7; now it's time for our new national leadership in the Legislative Branch to join President Bush in leading our nation to a new foreign policy that a significant majority of all Americans can support.
Don't forget: The insurgents in Iraq are not taking Christmas off. Facts on the ground are changing, whether we like it or not.
Everyone, of both parties, who does not support a prompt withdrawal has a responsibility to be part of the solution.
Sure, Damon would have to answer the same question, and if he supported the war he might do it, but it doesn't really seem as though he does. It seems to me that he was arguing that Bush's daughters should fight in the war in some capacity if they supported it.
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