Lee Rejects Resigning Commission Because of US Investment

Freeman says that around 1849 then-Senator Jefferson Davis recommended Robert E. Lee to command troops for a Cuban revolutionary junta in New York that was planning to invade Cuba to re-establish themselves. (Can you say Bay of Pigs?) Freeman says in R.E. Lee (p. 307):

... [A] strong element in Congress favored the seizure of Cuba.... But before Lee could consider either the comity or the feasibility of the expedition, he balked on a consideration of personal honor: he had been educated as a soldier at public expense; he held a commission in the army of the United States; was it right that he should entertain a proposal from another government while in the service of America? He debated the question and virtually reached his conclusion, but he determined to consult with Davis before deciding whether he would permit the proposal to be opened in detail to him by the junta. He accordingly went to Washington and confidentially discussed the matter. The Mississippi senator was disposed to canvass the chances of military success, but Lee explained that he wanted the judgment of Davis on the ethics of entertaining any offer from a foreign power. Davis's answer is not recorded, but Lee took the strictest view of his duty and declined to consider a proposal.

How does this compare with George W. Bush? During the Vietnam War he was trained as a fighter pilot at a cost to the US of hundreds of thousands of dollars for flight time, etc. However, first he left Texas for the Alabama National Guard where he seldom, if ever, appeared for duty. Then he decided to go to the Harvard Business School, and just walked away from his entire military experience. He had no consideration for the money spent in training him by the government, just as he has no concept of the huge deficits he is running now. Money to Bush is nothing, because people just give it to him to win his favor and influence. Lee grew up in genteel poverty, and never ceased to be concerned about wasting money.