...and it's a shame that it took his death to do it.
What did Mr. Ledger do, you ask?
He made the most stubborn politician in modern times change his itinerary:
The death of Heath Ledger prompted the White House to postpone President Bush's event Wednesday promoting an ad campaign aimed at preventing prescription drug abuse.
Ledger, 28, who was nominated for an Oscar for "Brokeback Mountain," was found dead Tuesday in his New York apartment. There were sleeping pills near him, but the cause of his death remains under investigation.
The president was to make a statement in the Roosevelt Room on the Office of National Drug Control Policy's television advertisement about preventing prescription drug abuse. A federally financed study released in December at the White House showed illicit drug use by teens continued to gradually decline overall this year, but the use of prescription painkillers remained popular among young people.
What's even more puzzling (at least to me) is their logic behind the cancelation:
White House press secretary Dana Perino said Bush's event had been scheduled for a while.
"We thought it would be better to postpone the event rather than run the risk of anyone thinking that we were being opportunistic in highlighting the issue," she said.
Did someone whisper "Remember Dan and Murphy Brown?" in the Cobra Commander's ear? Is Bush a fan of "The Patriot?" Because based on this guy's track record, that explanation is nothing short of ridiculous.
We thought it would be better to postpone the event rather than run the risk of anyone thinking that we were being opportunistic in highlighting the issue.
Where was this line of thinking when Valerie Plame's name was being tossed around?
We thought it would be better to postpone the event rather than run the risk of anyone thinking that we were being opportunistic in highlighting the issue.
How about when the "Grand Iraq Lie-A-Thon" was going on?
We thought it would be better to postpone the event rather than run the risk of anyone thinking that we were being opportunistic in highlighting the issue.
I try not to hate; it's not good for the soul and the constitution (or the Constitution). But it's things like this, with people dying in Iraq, that frustrate me. I wonder how many more deaths it will take to get him to do some more "rescheduling."
UPDATE: On the Bill Press Show this morning (1/24/08), this topic was brought up and Bill also wondered why Bush would change his schedule over Ledger's death.