1st Lt. Ryan McGlothlin
'Ryan McGlothlin was set for life: a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the College of William & Mary, a doctoral research fellowship in chemistry at Stanford University, a bright future on the cutting edge of science.
He gave it all up to join the Marines. On Nov. 16, at age 26, he was killed in Iraq.
In a speech here Wednesday, President Bush singled out McGlothlin's life story, calling the young lieutenant a symbol of "the greatest force for freedom in human history," a man who "felt a special obligation to step up because he had been given so much."
Ryan McGlothlin was an interesting choice for the president's speechwriting team. When White House speechwriters contacted his parents Monday to ask for permission to mention him, they were told that McGlothlin had not voted for Bush in 2000 or 2004.
But, Donald and Ruth McGlothlin said, they told the White House that Bush could use their son's story as long as it was not reduced to a sound bite or taken out of context. And they vetted the words the president delivered.
"My son told us, to our faces, 'I won't vote for Mr. Bush, but I'll take a bullet for him,' "
What can you write to follow that?
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1st Lt. Ryan McGlothlin
