Who took these photos? Why? Did he have permission from the subjects to publish them. I hope if the cadet is disciplined in any way, he gets a conservative lawyer and sues the pants off the photographer and all of the media who are complicit in this invasion of his privacy. (Not that the news media would likely be able to pay much).
I suspect what the cadet was reading was required or recommended reading in some course. The cadets where locked in the room two hours before OJ or OB came, and that was two hours of reading time, so why not read something you have to read sooner or later. Cadets have a more demanding schedule than Franny and Zooie at Swarthmore. They have a course load as demanding as any college, and, in addition, are required to drill, etc., and also participate in a varsity or intramural sport in each season. The reports I have read (as opposed to headlines) clearly indicated that this was before the speech, and not during it, suggesting that it was no more a disrespectful act than would reading “Growing Up in Samoa” or “Down these mean streets” or the Bible or the Koran have been. The Cadet is entitled to read what he chooses to read at a time when reading is not prohibited. That’s one of the rights these cadets will be fighting to defend very soon, just as many in the long grey line have fought for before. And anyway, why couldn’t Obama have saved the country some money and West Point some inconvenience by staying home and delivering the speech from there? Did he think the cadets would swoon like his campaign groupies used to?