Phil Donahue's "Body of War" Battles to Infultrate Theaters

The business of politics is as much about learning when to hold your tongue as it is when to speak. Phil Donahue, talk show host impressario of the '80s-90's, won't disclose for whom he's voting for President because making enemies of good affiliates at a time when you are shopping a vital and uniquely told documentary is just not good strategy. However, he is a good friend of Ralph Nader's and a strong supporter of alternative political voices, so you might guess Donahue's not a right of center guy.

His documentary, "Body of War" is no Little Miss Sunshine, according to Donahue. It's a story about a young vet who returns from Iraq severely wounded and neglected by the military he served. If we hadn't gone through some of these same issues in Vietnam, where thousands of vets returned as drug addicts because the pharmaceuticals were freely distributed at addictive levels to kill the pain, both physical and psychological, perhaps there would be some latitude to forgive the military hospitals' treatment of the wounded and the executive branch's ignorance. However, we have seen this before and this young man's story should get every veteran, whether Republican, Democratic or other, stark raving mad at the administration. Plain and simple.

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