Dad-in-chief
On Obama's speech
Dad-in-chief
She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted. I want to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it. All of us -– we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.
-- Barack Obama, Tucson, Ariz., January 12, 2011.
President Obama's speech worked so well last night because he looked into the eyes of America and talked to us not as the head of an oversized bureaucracy in Washington or the commander-in-chief of the world's strongest military -- but simply as the dad of two little girls not much older than 9-year-old murder victim Christina Green, and someone who could understand and share the enormity of that loss.
It was the finest moment of his presidency, so far.
This is part of the job of president -- "consoler-in-chief," as so many said yesterday -- and it is a task our leaders are called to perform all too often. Now, it is back to Washington, and the less emotional part of his job, running the United States government. In addition to the many things that were already on his plate -- "jobs" springs to mind, for example -- he will be tasked with making some real world sense of this, and how tragedy can translate into better policies on everything from guns to mental health care. When he does that, and he will, I hope he tackles it with the values on display for the world last night.
The values of a dad.
In this moment of profound grief and sadness, as we mourn our dead, let's keep in mind that we need "jobs". Weren't we all thinking that?— jmc
I am sure the usual suspects of shrieking righties who frequent Will's comments will of course present a different view of Obama's speech last night. I can hardly wait. And let's count how many of the "talking points" they present that the entire right-wing noise machine has already made, ad nauseam, since Obama's speech last night. You betcha they will!— Mr_Cool
Comment removed.- *ZING*
Right-wing noise machine talking point #1: "It was more like a pep rally than a memorial service."— Mr_Cool - "Dems are just indecent people....they have done nothing but exploit this tragedy for political gain at each turn."
Because, as we all know, Republicans NEVER exploited 9/11 for political gain, never, ever, not ever, nosiree! (Except, of course, when they did, for example at their 2004 national convention). INDECENT! SHAMELESS!— Mr_Cool - And then Dems exploited the wars and associated deaths for political gain. Ain't politics grand?
— RG - Democrats and liberals exploited the WMD lie, no doubt. But many like me were against the war from jump.
Keep going with the sarcasm. Like Palin, you just can't stop yourself!— chasing history - Like an obsessive compulsive, you can't stop mentioning her name. Shes the center of your universe. And is sarcasm the new rhetoric? — RG
- Exactly! Political exploitation of tragedy is not the sole domain of one or the other side. It's all part of the game of politics.
However, there are moments when the spectacle can do good. When GW Bush stood on the WTC rubble with that fireman and declared, ""I can hear you....and pretty soon the people responsible for this are going to hear you, too," that was one of the great moments in the American Presidency. His "Ich bin ein Berliner!" moment.
Is it indecent and shameless? Perhaps. Welcome to the modern world.— Mr_Cool - Bush's words were fine, the actions not so much. Plenty of innocents in Iraq and Afghanistan heard us too. — RG
- His words that day rallied the nation in a dark moment. His later actions were a completely different set of utter failures. But that's not the point. — Mr_Cool
- One could argue that his words that day rallied the nation to buying into his further actions. — RG
- Sure, in retrospect. But when they were uttered I doubt few could envision the complete failure of policy that would follow. At that moment they were spoken, they were quite inspiring for a vast majority of Americans. And, yes, Bush & Co. exploited that massive public support for some ill-conceived warmongering. — Mr_Cool
- Warmongering, expansion of gov power, curtailing of some liberties, massive debt. Its why I'm cynical when pols say they're going to bring us together. We're not a collective, we're individuals. — RG
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