Posted on 08/31/2012 2:28:31 PM PDT by grundle
President Barack Obama was greeted with fleeting applause and extended periods of silence as he offered profuse praise to soldiers and their families during an Aug. 31 speech in Fort Bliss, Texas.
His praise for the soldiers — and for his own national-security policies — won cheers from only a small proportion of the soldiers and families in the cavernous aircraft-hanger.
The audience remains quiet even when the commander-in-chief thanked the soldiers’ families, and cited the 198 deaths of their comrades in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The audience’s reaction was so flat that the president tried twice to elicit a reaction from the crowd.
“Hey, I hear you,” he said amid silence.
The selected soldiers who were arrayed behind the president sat quietly throughout the speech.
CNN and MSNBC ended their coverage of the speech before it was half-over.
The president’s speech to the soldiers is part of his constitutional duties as commander-in-chief.
But Obama and his wife are also trying to reach out to military families in several critical swing-states, including Virginia and Florida.
That outreach, however, has been damaged by repeated flubs from the White House, including its public emphasis on soldiers’ wounds rather than on their accomplishments, and Obama’s effort to distance himself from the anti-jihad campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For example, Obama gave Vice President Joe Biden the task of developing a post-war agreement with Iraq’s government in 2009. The effort failed, reducing U.S. gains from the campaign that killed almost 4,500 troops, and as well as thousands of jihadis and Sunni insurgents seeking to regain power. The subsequent withdrawal of nearly all U..S. troops has allowed Iran to increase its influence in Iraq. In turn, that influence helps it support Syria’s dictatorship against Sunni insurgents.
White House officials are trying to avoid additional flubs. On Friday, for example, White House officials rushed to debunk a report that the president had used an autopen to sign condolence letters to soldiers’ families.
Throughout Friday’s speech, the loudest reactions came when the president name-checked the nicknames of the soldiers’ brigades. Major military units have their own rival cheers, and those could be heard from portions of the audience when he referred to individual units.
The troops’ silence continued through several obvious applause-lines.
There was isolated cheers when Obama said his withdrawal policy would ensure “fewer deployments … more time to prepare for the future, and it means more time on the home front, with your families, your home and kids.”
The silence deepened when the president lauded his strategy of withdrawal from the war. “Make no mistake, ending the wars responsibly makes us safer and our military even stronger, and ending these wars is letting us dos something else; restoring American leadership,” he said amid complete silence.
When he said demobilized soldiers would find jobs because “all of you have the skills America needs,” he got little reaction.
There was no reaction when he promised stepped-up recruitment of soldiers for police jobs.
He won some applause when he announced his support for soldiers injured in combat.
The most enthusiastic applause came when he lauded the soldiers’ military mission, and promised continued support for that professional task.
An anecdote about his meeting with a wounded soldier was met with a tepid response, until he described the soldier’s determination to recover and return to his unit. “He’s where every soldier wants to be – back with his unit,” Obama, said, generating applause.
Similarly, his declaration that “around the world there’s a new attitude toward America, a new confidence in our leadership” yielded only silence, while his next sentence — “When people are asked ‘Which country do you admire most?’ one nation always comes out on top, the United States of America” — prompted relative enthusiasm.
The White House’s video-feed cut off 10 seconds after the president finished his speech, before the audience’s reaction overall could be gauged by viewers.
I watched the video until I got to 4:06 when I remembered that my doctor has told me that if I quit watching Obama, the voices I hear in my head will go away and I won’t feel so compelled to go back to burying bodies under my house.
Carter visited Offutt AFB, Nebraska, late in his one term as POTUS.
At that time, Offutt AFB was SAC HQ.
While I can't account for other base personnel, I can relate that the entire SAC HQ Intelligence Division was on lockdown throughout his visit. None of us were ordered to attend. None of us would have obeyed that order.
OTOH
When President Reagan visited Anderson AFB (Guam), that was the one and only time I took full advantage of my rank and position for my own benefit, and stood for 2 hours on a hot tarmac, to be there to welcome him, and hear anything he cared to say to those of us who volunteered/schemed to assemble in formation to greet him.
And yes, we ranking NCOs broke protocol, clapped, laughed and were a very appreciative and supportive audience for a highly respected civilian POTUS and our CINC. From what I have gathered, President Bush had similar receptions from active duty military members, although his stops went deeper than short touch and go's at various overseas military installations.
Would it be in violation of the UCMJ to sneak a bag of crickets into the venue beforehand to give the president a response.
I have a son at Ft. Bragg as well.
Oh, yeah. They're hovering between contempt and barely-concealed homicidal urges.
Bless your heart—and his!
LMAO!
Plus when they return home and muster out if they decide to post their feelings on a private Facebook page they can look forward to being grabbed from their front porch, and thrown in the psych ward for a 30 day evaluation.
I couldn’t handle all that silly hooah stuff, when did that start?
It wasn’t there when I was in.
Could he be any more smug in his attitude? Ugh.
I fast forwarded through Obama’s “speech” pausing now and then, and it’s obvious he was just phoning it in. He looked mad all through the speech, with that dark-eyed glower he shows from time-to-time.
Thanks for the link to the speech. Very telling.
I have been a civilian for almost twenty years now, and not once(NEVER) have I ever been summoned to perform jury duty.
Various co-workers, in several states, have been summoned multiple times.
Why not me?
I have two DD214s, both reflect entirely honorable discharges.(I reenlisted after a break in service, and served two 4 year terms).
Am I on a special list?
LOL! Yeah, I think I probably am. Don't you?
No, it has nothing to do with any combat related PTSD.
I never participated in any declared combat operation.
I tried to mentor a Marine through his service, as best I could, but since he was a Marine... enough said.
The current administration has a “special program” for all recent veterans.
If any veteran claims they are “suffering from depression” the feds will promise them disability for life.
No, they need not be physically disabled combat vets, nor is there any requirement that they were ever even close to a war zone.
If you are a recent veteran, and are not a happy citizen, well, Obama is going to give you some cash to try to make it all right and happy for you!
The downside: if you take the tiny extra cash amount now, (unearned and undeserved) of Obama war-bucks, you will be forever tagged as a danger to society!
LOL!
It’s almost certainly not “99%” of the troops, but it is a pretty high percentage, I’m sure.
To answer your question, a combination of the two. Joe Snuffy is expected to be on time to everything, but the POTUS can just saunter in whenever he likes? Complete disregard of other people’s time.
His applause lines were a joke. I would’ve been stone-faced in that audience, too, and not just b/c I loathe that guy. His speech made no sense. It’s a classic example of “don’t pay attention to what I do or have previously said, just listen to what I’m saying right now!” Pathetic. I certainly had my problems with GWB, but there was never any doubt as to his care and concern for us in the military. There’s also no doubt that Obama hates us with a passion, and the feeling is mutual.
I hope he stalked off that stage fuming mad at his campaign props.
Thanks!
How does that picture prove (or even suggest) that he used an autopen? The signatures are different (loon at the top of the “O,” for example.
Before subjecting myself to what I knew would be another speech ∅-
Crock-O-Crap™ I thought about engaging in substance abuse or
something to quell the dry heaves in order to make it thorough it.
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