I watched it live and couldn't believe how foolish and uncaring the actions he chose to take were going to appear to the nation. It was an existing conference that he was scheduled to speak at. However, he had a national priority and the only reason all the networks were there covering his speech was for him to address THE NATION at a time of grief and crisis. Instead he decided to do shout outs and back patting and political happy talk for two full minutes.
I told my husband "I'll bet this comes back to haunt him."
How should he have done it? Simple. Come to the microphone. Let the people there know that a tragic incident has happened in the nation and he is addressing the larger national audience. Once he's completed that statement go on to his prepared remarks.
Is he evil or uncaring? No. But for someone who is "so smart," he's frequently clueless and tone deaf...
< Message edited by AJ Roberts -- 11/5/2009 8:52:48 PM >
I totally agree with you Audrey Jeanne. It was not the thing to do. It felt like he announced it as an afterthought. I thought it was very disrespectful.
I am afraid that every day that passes and every crisis he faces brings to light what kind of person he really is. How many things will it take and how many crisis does he have to mangle before the people will wake up? I am afraid it is going to lead to greater heartbreak and hardships for all.. God bless Nyoka
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When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
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This is so sad but typical of how he has been so far. Things are going to get worse, I fear. GOD BLESS AMERICA and we certainly need God's blessings and help now!
This note from Jim Geraghty at National Review Online perfectly encapsulates my concern about this event and President Obama's reaction to it yesterday:
Hoping Obama Rises to the Occasion in a Crisis Like Robert George, I was a little thrown when I saw President Obama giving a "shout-out" to somebody in the audience, moments before he discussed the Fort Hood shooting. Like Jonah, I'm not sure this is something worth making too much fuss about; Obama will do worse things during his presidency than make some off-key remarks right before offering his first comments on a national outrage. But I'll note something mildly troubling about this, and it relates to something I've discussed with a few other righties lately. Back during the campaign, Joe Biden had said that Obama was going to be tested early in his presidency. Some might see the Iranian protests as his first test, or North Korea's increasingly regular missile launches, or the looming and seemingly ever-delayed decision on Afghanistan.Yet all of these events have seemed far away and fairly distant from the day-to-day life of average Americans. Yesterday's horrific shooting, with the ever-rising number of dead and wounded, was one of the few days this year where you felt the need to get to a television and stay updated on a rapidly developing crisis. Inevitably, life will offer more of these moments, and next time it may be more than one individual with murder on their mind. When the next crisis greets President Obama, I don't want him to drop the ball. Our friends on the left keep telling us about his great temperament, and feel certain he'll rise to the occasion in the face of hard calls, where time is of the essence, that would leave many men whimpering. I hope they're right. But right now the early indicators are a bit ominous. We're two months past the request for more troops in Afghanistan, and still waiting for a decision. The next decision might be, "Mr. President, that unresponsive passenger jet is two minutes away from a heavily-populated area. But we can't confirm a hijacking, it might just be some unresponsive equipment. The National Guard pilots are awaiting your order to shoot it down."
This is from NBC Chicago (not exactly red-state America) and shows that this isn't just a "Let's jump on board and attack the President" concern:
SNIPPET: ...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.
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I watched the vid early this evening. I thought it was callous, inappropriate and uncaring. No sooner had he completed it, he went on as if it was "business as usual." Appalling!
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It was insulting to the people serving at Ft Hood (military & civvie), the American Indians at the Conference, and the American people, in general. It was sad that the POTUS has to act this way - Bill Clinton was casual in his regard to press ops, but this just shouted "I'm really only saying this because I HAVE to." He just didn't APPEAR that he was making this a top priority.
{flame away if you must} FOX News has been saying it for a year now...this Administration has gone back to a pre-9/11 mindset & the way they're dealing with this issue just shows it.
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Did you watch President Obama's statement today? - 
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