I watched Mr Obama this morning giving what I thought was one of the worst speeches I've ever heard. And it finally hit me. The man has no empathy towards anyone who has ever been in danger or suffered any loss.
I was never in a combat zone. I was never a target. But I have had the crap scared out me many times on Air Force planes (near crash in Seoul on a C5A), in Army helicopters (nap of the earth in a Chinook in Honduras while "rebels" WERE shooting at us) and on the ground on the East German border when the Cold War was still pretty warm. I never "saw the elephant" but I stayed prepared to look for it. I am in awe of what our soldiers do every day. LT GW Bush never saw combat, but he was still a lieutenant in the United States armed forces and he strapped into the F102, a jet fighter that killed more than its share of pilots, and flew when and where he was told. He was also humbled by what the troops under his command accomplished. He understood.
Obama does not. This picture has been seen all over the internet. The President could have at least left his suit jacket on. Appearances matter to soldiers and what I see is a President trying to be casual and "cool" and a soldier who really doesn't appreciate the familiarity.
I heard him say yesterday that "I have muslim soldiers fighting in Afghanistan" and it struck a deep chord. We the people have soldiers in Afghanistan. Mr President, you are the commander in chief - you command - you do not own.
