Saturday, November 7, 2009
Let me just give a shout-out to The Boston Globe (or The Boston Globe-Democrat as Michael Graham would have it) for actually criticizing His Worship for his completely odd-ball introductory remarks yesterday. Did someone on the editorial board get a bad ice cube in the scotch and soda? It's the only explanation for this burst of lucidity. Obama's delayed empathy
IN TIMES of national tragedy, Americans expect their president to capture the mood and moment with the right blend of emotion, empathy, and urgency. It's a delicate act of timing and tone. And President Obama, despite his eloquence and dignity, has yet to master it, as illustrated by his awkward response to the deadly shootings at the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas.
Obama's initial remarks came shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday, while Americans were struggling to come to grips with the shocking rampage and its chaotic aftermath. The stage was set for the president to quickly and somberly address the tragedy. Instead, a serene-looking Obama offered light introductory comments, keyed to those attending a Tribal Nations Conference that was hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. His introduction included a convivial "shout-out'' to one of the conference attendees.
Several minutes in, Obama finally called the Fort Hood shootings "a horrific outburst of violence.'' The words he spoke next were respectful and appropriate. But it took him too long to get to the point of delivering them...
It was a really weird moment. At first I thought he was thanking some of the responders or something...but no... This via Surber. Here's the video in case you missed it:
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, p.44
Oddball? Hmm, you are soooo polite because I haven't quit ranting, raving, cursing, and having steam come out of my ears yet. It was absolutely disgraceful.
We all noticed that.
I think he was in shock. Or maybe he didn't want to slight the people attending the conference?
Anyway this is a terrible thing and there wasn't clarity even regarding who the shooter was and if he was alive.
You know this made me think, all this divisiveness and political anger and OTT bitterness - we're all Americans after all and we're in a war. There are people out there and even here who want to harm us.
Shouldn't we try to be a little more civil to each other? We have REAL enemies.
Now YOU are being polite. In shock? I'm not buying that. This was one of those real moments, one of those times when the real man shows. For me it was an opposite moment from the one George Bush had after 9/11 -- I hadn't even liked Bush before that, but at that moment I felt I saw the real man come out, and it drew me to him. Same with the other incidents in the Globe editorial. In this, Obama's moment, it wasn't pretty. It was horribly of-base.
This is an issue of substance, it's legitimate, and yes, it's politics. He's not the enemy, but he deserves the criticism.
Give him hell, Karen
It was kind of strange, no doubt. I was expecting him to open his remarks with a comment about Ft. Hood and instead -
?