Bush saw the Mission Accomplished sign when he got out of the plane on the deck of the Aircraft Carrier. I am familiar with carriers and I know he had to see it.

I have just re-read his speech on that day and will quote some of it for you:

"combat operations have ended"
"in the battle of Afghanistan also we have destroyed the Taliban"
"the 82ne airborne is right now on the tail of the rest"
"half of Al Quaida is destroyed"
" shown the world that we carried out the battle with boldness and speed by sending planes and missiles to destroy divisions or bunkers"
"the skill and might of America was shown"

I do agree that Bush would never have thought of a sign.
I do have a Little doubt about ACORN and its influence, but I doubt now that OBAMA has any wish to cooperate with them. I can't say if he had more to do with ACORN at one time than Bush did with OIL, BANKS, AIG, and of course the old buddy at ENRON.

I don't doubt that he saw it but my point was that it was neither his idea nor his direction. And you left out a meaningful word from the speech--the word "major" in front of "combat operations"--with your professed familarity with Carriers, I wouldn't expect you to know the difference that word brings to the discussion. And you may be surprised to hear that I don't support more troops for Afghanistan unless the General in charge says "I need"--and he has not done that yet. The real issue is security of the Pakistani government and their nuclear weapons. A stable Afghan govt is important to the stability of the entire region and I'm not sure the Afghanis care enough to make that happen. Sad indeed, but that's their history, made real by their culture.

What's the answer?
-------------------------------------------
Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.