Posted on 04/22/2009 3:30:15 PM PDT by presidio9
In his Monday speech to CIA employees, President Obama aimed to assure an agency where some are suspicious of him. His decision to release details of interrogation techniques used on terrorists risked making operatives fearful of political second-guessing and raised fears our enemies would get an advantage.
Against that backdrop, the President expressed one of the more remarkable passages of his young tenure, one worth repeating in full:
"What makes the United States special, and what makes you special, is precisely the fact that we are willing to uphold our values and our ideals even when it's hard, not just when it's easy; even when we are afraid and under threat, not just when it's expedient to do so. That's what makes us different.
"So, yes, you've got a harder job. And so do I. And that's okay, because that's why we can take such extraordinary pride in being Americans. And over the long term, that is why I believe we will defeat our enemies, because we're on the better side of history.
"So don't be discouraged by what's happened in the last few weeks. Don't be discouraged that we have to acknowledge potentially we've made some mistakes. That's how we learn. But the fact that we are willing to acknowledge them and then move forward, that is precisely why I am proud to be President of the United States, and that's why you should be proud to be members of the CIA."
You don't have to agree with the interrogation disclosures to find sweet music in those words. All the more so because they come from Obama.
I was starting to wonder whether he actually felt that way, whether he is truly proud of our nation and its history.
If he is, and it sure sounds like it, he ought to say so more often. And he ought to say it to the whole world.
Obama's major trips abroad have been notable for two reasons: His willingness to let his nation be insulted by dictators, and his failure to get results in exchange.
While Obama wants to separate himself from George Bush, his actions sometimes suggest he understands anti-Americanism a little too well. Especially troubling was his failure to give a straight answer to whether he believes in American Exceptionalism.
It's demoralizing to imagine the President of the United States might not think there is something uniquely wonderful about our country and its role as the beacon and guarantor of liberty.
There is, of course, a view on the far left that blames America for everything wrong in the world, a group writer William Safire dubbed the "blame America firsters." At some points while abroad, Obama flirted with that camp.
In France, he said, "America has shown arrogance." In Turkey, he said we are "still working through some of our darker periods," citing the treatment of Native Americans and other minorities.
During his meeting with Central and Latin American leaders, he said his aim was to get more people to "see us as a force for good or at least not a force for ill."
There is nothing inaccurate with those sentiments. But Obama didn't put them in any context. By acknowledging our flaws and skipping our many grand achievements, he fed the sense we are only the sum of our failures.
He could have said America has done more to advance freedom around the world than any nation in history. That our soldiers who died fighting tyranny are buried on battlefields across the globe. That our charity is unique. That we have an immigration problem because the world wants to live here. And that without us, man's lot would be much, much "darker."
Now that he's said as much at the CIA, maybe our President will speak up for America wherever he goes.
mgoodwin@nydailynews.com
So he goes to the CIA and say nice things after he has shoved it up their butts———and ours.
Can we get Cheney a gym membership and run him in 2012?
It looks like the USA needs to defend itself against Obambi!
Please, 0 is the worst enemy the United States has ever had. What others never stood a chance of doing, he will do in months, and at the most, years. He hates America, and loves its enemies.
The bottom line to our defense is in the Second Amendment.
Yup .. and the sooner the better
He has forfeited whatever moral high ground he might have had.
In a more civilized time it would be recognized that the President has declared war against the citizens. In this benighted time, it will take a little while longer to come to that understanding.
“It looks like the USA needs to defend itself against Obambi!”
Well stated! My thoughts exactly!
That will be too late.
ENEMY #1!
Exactly
You mean, if there is an America after the Dem & 0bama Nazis get done with it?
No, you don't. What the administration has said is that agents obeying legal orders are not at risk but that any orders they do obey are subject to being made illegal ex post facto. In short, there is no defense against political opportunism and show trials. Obama's job is really much easier, not that this sort of dictatorial behavior was ever all that difficult.
Does this mean that Obama can get indicted after his term for ruining this country, endangering this country, shaming this country, and the like?
Behold! The enemy within.
Nuff said.
Putin would do a better job at running the USA than Obama.
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