Watching him repeat his political attacks on the previous administration and on the Karzai government, I was struck by how small he sounded. This was Obama’s moment to make a forceful case for doing the best thing for America and all Americans. This was the moment when his presidency could have crossed over from aloof arrogance to principled conviction.
Instead, he gave one of the most uninspired speeches in front of a military audience that I’ve ever witnessed. He stood steps away from some of the bravest and most skilled men and women you could assemble in one location and droned on about timetables, his opposition to the war in Iraq and the surge that brought about America’s success there. He made the sacrifice of the men and women of the military sound like something he, too, endures because he writes letters to the families of the fallen.
A president is usually more moved by the impact these encounters have on him than the contribution he makes in a family’s darkest hour. I was struck by how uncomfortable he looked, and how inappropriate his budget mumbo jumbo seemed in front of men and women who make their contributions to this country in ways most of us can’t imagine.
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