November 08, 2009

Ice Queen President

I doubt that this was intentional, but George Bush highlighted that America has elected an Ice Queen. Friday, under the cover of darkness, George Bush snuck into Fort Hood to console the victims of the Fort Hood Massacre. From the LATIMES:
Last night former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura made a secret visit to the devastated military families at Fort Hood.

The Bushes instructed the commander of the mourning military base that they wanted no publicity. With their Secret Service detail, Bush and his wife made the 30 mile trip unannounced from their ranch near Crawford, Texas Friday evening.

Fox News broke news of the visit this afternoon. Other sources said the former first couple spent about two hours meeting with the wounded, family and soldiers, talking quietly and at times hugging them as they did in private at other times of crisis such as post-9/11.
Bush’s selfless act would probably not seem so extraordinary but for the fact that it comes on the heels of Obama’s midnight excursion to Dover AFB, complete with press, staff, and photographers so he could "see first hand the human cost of the Afghanistan war."

Now, as USA Today reports. "President Obama will visit Fort Hood soon to pay tribute to the victims of Thursday's shooting, a decision that scrambles the rest of his schedule, possibly including next week's trip to Asia." Gee, sorry for the inconvenience. Perhaps the President can persuade them to hold the memorial on Veterans Day and get some real mileage out of it.

I’m not saying that Obama is cold, calculating, or heartless it’s just that by all appearances he is an automaton; cold, calculating, and heartless. A case in point was the President’s address to the nation on Thursday. Obviously the events in Texas were still unfolding but I for one sat stunned as Obama rambled on for two minutes and gave a Palinesque shout out to someone in the audience before he coolly stated the obvious. Soldiers were being killed on a US military installation and the Presidents schedule proceeds uninterrupted? The disconnect here is disturbing.

His performance on Friday was equally obtuse. He sounded more like a local news caster as he moved deadpan from the Fort Hood update to the economy story. I half expected him to say “Now let me shoot you over to Rohm Emmanuel at our weather desk.”

Perhaps I'm just longing for the days when a President could at least feel our pain, and if necessary command a tear when appropriate. It is often said that what made FDR so effective was his ability to make people feel that he connected to them personally. These recent events leaves you wondering if the Ice Queen is connected at all.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I like the Ice Queen moniker. Seems utterly appropriate for our President.