I know, I know, if you can’t blog anything real nice it’s better not to blog at all, that’s my advice. Nevertheless:
Personally, I would have liked bin Laden’s death to have been announced by whatever lowest-level official was manning the night desk at the Department of Nondescript Bureaucrats, preferably reading it off the back of an envelope. But, if you’re going to put the head of state on TV to announce it himself, it would have been better to have been all brisk and businesslike — “At 0800 hours American military assets entered an address at 27b Jihadist Gardens, etc” — and finish off with a bit of Churchillian sober uplift about it not being the end or the beginning of the end but maybe the end of the beginning.
Instead, as Stephen Hunter, the novelist and Washington Post film critic, writes:
Any joy one might feel in the intelligence of our analysts and the bravery of our door kickers was significantly diminished by Obama’s malignant narcissism. The first part of the announcement, evoking 9/11, was vulgarly overwritten as per Obama’s view of himself as some kind of gifted orator. The adjective bloated compote was unworthy of the subject, banal and self-indulgent.
I was, I confess, a little stunned by the first part of the president’s speech. It was, as Mr. Hunter says, overwritten. It managed to be both overwrought and generic — all that telepromptered overload about cloudless Tuesday mornings was not only tackily over-prettified but came over as unfelt and hand-me-down, like a course exercise in some third-rate creative-writing school’s Soaring Oratory class. Or, at any rate, as if they’d loaded up a first draft of September’s tenth anniversary speech into the machine. The official announcement was delayed for all this? If ever there was a moment for the commander-in-chief to be real, plainspoken and off his glassy-eyed follow-the-bouncing-ball routine, this was it. It’s as if nobody around him knows how to write except in the one tinny key.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to rally round the flag, and rally round the president, but rally round this speech? No thanks.
I agree, furthermore I thought he sounded to wanting of credit.
I was expecting him to say, "Let me be clear, I deserve the credit for killing bin Laden and nobody else."
He should get the credit he deserves, but don't be so needy Barack.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSpot on, Mark, I thought the very same thing as I listened to the speech.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI agree that the statement was a bit long.
Nevertheless, it was one of Obama's finest, and, perhaps, the best statement from a sitting president since the 1990s. Of course, the bar has not been set too high.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAny joy conservatives might feel is mitigated by the fact that they hate Obama more than they hate Bin Laden. Bin Laden only threatened American lives. Conservatives believe Obama threatens their money.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseEndorsed. Hunter is dead on: "vulgarly overwritten," "adjective bloated compote," "banal and self-indulgent," "tasteless claims of personal leadership."
And you'rewright, too, of course, Mark. We had to wait almost an hour for this? Not for operation specifics, but for his speechwriters' lyrical paean to 9/11?
He should also have been graceful enough to specify the Navy Seals, special forces, and the military in general, and not just mention Panetta being in charge of a "small team of Americans," perhaps giving the impression this was just an intelligence / CIA coup.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI haven't heard anyone point out one part that was particularly distasteful, but it did point out a huge difference vs Bush. It's well-known that Bush spent a TON of time with fallen troops' family members - away from the press. Obama noted how difficult it was for him ... when he had to sign letters to these families. Ouch!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMy initial reaction was the opposite. While I agree that the rhetoric at the beginning was a reach, I thought Obama kept himself out of it, beyond the job details - getting the lead, giving the order. There wasn't too much that was political or partisan about the speech, and the President's tone was appropriate.
It wasn't a great speech but given some of Obama's recent speeches it was an improvement for the President. No straw men or divisive inferences, just the recognition that one of the most evil men on the face of the earth has been destroyed.
That he tried to rise to the moment is forgivable, but for me it was no more crass or self-indulgent than the throngs outside shouting U-S-A. It's a big moment with a lot of emotions.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBut I do have to give Obama credit for calling Bush ahead of time. Since he didn't mention in his speech that he had done so, it made me wonder whether he had until it was made clear later that he had.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Any joy conservatives might feel is mitigated by the fact that they hate Obama more than they hate Bin Laden"
Actually, it was the Moonbat Left that hated Bush more than they hated bin Laden.
In general, conservatives don't "hate" over politics.
That is the purview of "liberals" to whom everything is political.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWith all due respect, I'm afraid RiotLibrarian has only left me with the impression that he or she hates conservatives more than Bin Laden. One doesn't need to agree with Mark's take on the speech (I didn't, see below) to crassly and dishonestly suggest conservatives are more worried about money than American lives. That was far more hateful than anything Mark posted.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseUnprofessional. That's all I can say. Alert us for a breaking news announcement, no subject, then screw around for more than an hour? It reminds me of those insecure egoists who call a meeting, then dither around for 15 minutes, just to show everyone who's boss. By then, of course, everyone knew what it was about.
A President who respects the time of the American citizen would wait at most five minutes for the press to preface it, then make the announcement. This man is neither professional, nor respects the American citizen.
Thank you for expressing what I feel, Mark.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt is incredible to see the right turn itself into pretzels trying to make out Obama did something wrong. He did one of the greatest deeds a President has ever done, like Churchill he rose above. It is sad that Americans such as those on the extreme right hate Obama that much they cannot recognize and be happy for America. I guess this is Obama Derangement Syndrome wrote large.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRiotLibrarian wrote: "Any joy conservatives might feel is mitigated by the fact that they hate Obama more than they hate Bin Laden.."
WOW, how pathetic are you? Are you Keith Olberman or Bill Maher? What a hateful, sad, sick individual you are.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI really would've loved, and was indeed hoping for, something short and sweet.
"This evening, the United States confirmed that Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan at [time]. There were no U.S. casualties..."
Then a couple of quick sentences about how the events unfolded, then one grand-yet-pithy, Churchhill-ian line. One minute tops. That would've been something.
Especially considering that, in my opinion, Obama wasn't really on point last night in terms of delivery. It really sounded half-hearted to me, like he reluctantly volunteered to do it because no one else wanted to. The guy has a stressful and tiring job, but still.... Even my wife, a major Obama fan, thought he was kind of off.
That being said, I can't get TOO upset about the whole thing. I'm just happy that bastid OBL is dead.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis isn't serious, right? It CAN'T be. You can't possibly mean to come off this petty and small. Within twenty four hours of the President announcing that Osama bin Laden has been killed by Special Forces, you wrote a blog entry - complete with a pull quote - about how you didn't like the HOW the President told the country?
That is quite literally childish.
Would it have been better for you had he flown onto an aircraft carrier and stood in a flight suit in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner?
Honestly. Give it a break.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNRO has little police icons for site monitors. Can we get little troll icons for folks like RiotLibrarian?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFrom my perspective, the wait was not due to Obama's speech writers. The speech was finished way before it was given (there was a week long notice, and, surely, Obama's speech writers had something prepared).
More likely, the delay was due to notifications. Obama personally called Bush and Clinton (and Carter?) and other politicians and dignitaries had to get the notice. Once the calls started, the cat was out of the bag, but formal notice had to be given before the press conference.
Perhaps the White House needs a better phone tree. But that is the extent of the reason for the delay.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLeave it to a Canadian to trash the President in one of our country's finest hours.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseUn-friggin'-believable. Obama oversees the greatest national victory since 9/11 and you want to critique his statement?!?!?! You would have been well served to have followed your own advice and just shut up.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI counted 11 "I or my" in the text. Graceless as usual, it's all about him. Takes all the credit and gives none to President Bush, whom he mentioned only once in reference to not being at war with Islam. Reports this morning are that the operation was made possible by intelligence gathered from Gitmo detainees through enhanced interrogation, which policies put in place by President Bush have been harshly criticized by President Obama and AG Holder for years. It was also reported that after Pres. Obama gave the order to proceed with the operation, he went to play golf Sunday morning while the Navy Seals were risking their lives executing the mission. Classic Obama. All that said, I am grateful that he had the guts to order it and that it was successful.
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