The Power of the Blogosphere: From Michelle Malkin. . .to the President

President at Annapolis

White House Photo

Michelle Malkin strikes again! And the influence of the blogosphere extends to the White House. . .

I had a note from the Chairman last night, telling me to read closely the President’s speech on Iraq at the Naval Academy yesterday. Particularly this passage:

One of those fallen heroes is a Marine Corporal named Jeff Starr, who was killed fighting the terrorists in Ramadi earlier this year. After he died, a letter was found on his laptop computer. Here’s what he wrote, he said, “[I]f you’re reading this, then I’ve died in Iraq. I don’t regret going. Everybody dies, but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, it’s not to me. I’m here helping these people, so they can live the way we live. Not [to] have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark.

There is only one way to honor the sacrifice of Corporal Starr and his fallen comrades — and that is to take up their mantle, carry on their fight, and complete their mission.

Next, the Chairman reminded me where it was that I first had heard the name “Corporal Starr.” Take a look at the headline from Michelle Malkin’s October 28th post, “CPL. JEFFREY B. STARR: WHAT THE NYTIMES LEFT OUT.”

The New York Times had run a story on the 2,000th soldier killed in Iraq, and Corporal Starr was one soldier featured.

Michelle, however, broke a big story by exposing how the NYT had misrepresented Jeffrey as someone who was fatigued by the war, and anxious to get out of the Marines. In fact, as the quote the President used in his speech illustrates, Jeffrey believed strongly in his mission.

Good work, Michelle.

And God Bless our soldiers.