Juxtaposition

This isn’t a great photo, just your basic snapshot, but I find it interesting. It’s a picture of me on the left, General Alan Gayhart, and Senator Larry Craig. We were standing in a dilapidated WWII barracks building during a training exercise, a few days before we deployed to Kuwait, and a butter-bar lieutenant snapped this photo.

One of other guys (not me) is a tremendous leader. He wakes up every day committed to doing the best he can for the people whose lives he affects, and he loses sleep agonizing over tough decisions he has to make. He is compassionate but he follows the book and is a straight-shooter, an unbiased person with no personal agenda other than doing the right thing. He works hard, he gives freely of his personal time, he is organized and efficient, and he makes things happen. He can chew ass and bring grown men to tears when it’s necessary, but he’s quick to toss off a compliment when he sees good work or an honest effort. I have personally witnessed everything I just wrote.

The other guy is just a politician. I appreciate the juxtaposition.