After news broke 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.
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."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 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 have occurred.
What happened to all the intelligence and intellect I keep hearing about, eh Barry?
You're Commander and Chief....AND THEY WERE SOLDIERS!!
Did the President not realize what sort of image he was 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. Guess he had to work that Native American vote a little, after all he has the dead people vote pretty much in the bag.
Just one more reason for Obama's detractors to call him "an empty suit".
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?
Some Congressional Democrats must wonder if the White House has burdened them with an overly ambitious, extremely expensive policy agenda of disastrous consequences.
And supporters across the country have real reason to panic..... it looks as if the empty suit has no coat tails.
________________________________
