Saturday, November 7, 2009

Offered without comment.



Brought to my attention by Bob Wright. Offered without comment.

Mike
III

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/politics/A-Disconnected-President.html

Obama's Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting

A bad week for Democrats compounded by an awful moment for Barack Obama.

By ROBERT A. GEORGE

Updated 2:56 PM CST, Fri, Nov 6, 2009

President Obama didn't wait long after Tuesday's devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships.

After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed. The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that the president would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance. At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation called for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective.

But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a "shout-out" to "Dr. Joe Medicine Crow -- that Congressional Medal of Honor winner." Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?

Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter. The president should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in. That's the least that should occur.

Indeed, an argument could be made that Obama should have canceled the Indian event, out of respect for people having been murdered at an Army post a few hours before. That would have prevented any sort of jarring emotional switch at the event.

Did the president's team not realize what sort of image they were presenting to the country at this moment? The disconnect between what Americans at home knew had been going on -- and the initial words coming out of their president's mouth was jolting, if not disturbing.

It must have been disappointing for many politically aware Democrats, still reeling from the election two days before. The New Jersey gubernatorial vote had already demonstrated that the president and his political team couldn't produce a winning outcome in a state very friendly to Democrats (and where the president won by 15 points one year ago). And now this? Congressional Democrats must wonder if a White House that has burdened them with a too-heavy policy agenda over the last year has a strong enough political operation to help push that agenda through.

If the president's communications apparatus can't inform -- and protect -- their boss during tense moments when the country needs to see a focused commander-in-chief and a compassionate head of state, it has disastrous consequences for that president's party and supporters.

All the president's men (and women) fell down on the job Thursday. And Democrats across the country have real reason to panic.

New York writer Robert A. George blogs at Ragged Thots.


LATER:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mike-bates/2009/11/06/obama-gives-shout-out-congressional-medal-honor-winner-who-isnt

Obama Gives Shout Out to 'Congressional Medal of Honor Winner' Who Isn't

By Mike Bates
November 6, 2009 - 01:18 ET

The Washington Post this afternoon reported "President Obama delivers remarks on Ft. Hood shooting at end of tribal leaders conference." The transcript begins:

SPEAKER: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

[*] OBAMA: Please, everybody, have a seat. Let me first of all just thank Ken and the entire Department of the Interior staff for organizing just an extraordinary conference.

I want to thank my Cabinet members and senior administration officials who participated today. I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow (ph) was around, and so I want to give a shout out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It's good to see you.


Ah, the dangers of giving shout outs without a teleprompter. Crow is not a Medal of Honor recipient. As noted by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society:

The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Generally presented to its recipient by the President of the United States of America in the name of Congress, it is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Crow's name is not included on the Society's Medal of Honor recipient list. He was, however, awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in August.

Obama, often described as "cerebral" by the mainstream media, should know the difference between the Medal of Honor and the Medal of Freedom, especially since he personally awarded the latter to Crow. Don't expect his blunder to receive wide coverage. It's not something he can blame George Bush for.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

My my. obama isn't "cerebral" at all but he most certainly is MENTAL. Why hasn't this mental case been removed yet? Or is the useful idiot's job not yet done?

I suspect that if his actions continue to erode the treasonous Democratic Party, he will be removed his those who installed the fraud and throw him under his own bus. May it be soon.

Anonymous said...

This is what happens when our mentally lightweight president strays from the teleprompter reservation.

B Woodman
III-per

Anonymous said...

If Bush had made such a faux pas, he would've been quite correctly eviscerated by the press.

With Obama...barely a twitter, this dead-on article being the only real exception to that.

Thank God for Drudge.

Anonymous said...

Well, I would say that he's an idiot, but that's stating the obvious when even HE can't understand the gravity of the situation.

Handlers and teleprompters are not needed at times like this. If he cannot stand there and speak to the more critical moment then he has no heart nor compassion for not speaking to the situation but demonstrates that he would rather glad hand and pal around with the immediate audience.

Gmac

Toastrider said...

This is their shining light, their messiah? This is their king, their 'One'? THIS yodeling moron?

You know what? I take back everything bad I ever said about Dan Quayle. Jesus fracking Krypton.

*bangs head on desk*

kenlowder said...

have never seen a more despicable act by a president then I saw yesterday. I'm talking about barrak hussein obama's remark about the terrorist attack at Fort Hood on unarmed soldiers and civilians. When channel 2 tuned in bho was halfway through his prepared remarks after a department of the interior conference. I saw this yahoo shout out and wave a greeting to a friend before he finished the remarks off his teleprompter. When this disgrace was done he then said a few kind things about our fallen and wounded soldiers. I see today that he is going to visit Walter Reed Hospital, not the injured in Fort Hood.

Can you imagine GWB finishing a conference and closing remarks, giving a glad hand to Karl Rove, before remarking about the fall of the World Trade towers? Can you imagine GWB not going to the site of the tragedy , but instead going to some downtown with tall buildings, way away from the site to give remarks? Of course not! As much as I dislike GWB for his dismantling of the Constitution He would NEVER do anything so despicable.

This yahoo MUST go before he apologizes for the terrorist need to have killed these soldiers.

Ken Lowder
http://ken-lowder.blogspot.com/

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