In his recent graduation address at W.U., the presidential candidate glaringly neglected to praise one form of public service: serving this nation militarily. William Kristol astutely analyses this “sin of omission” — all too habitual on campuses:

Obama obviously felt no need to disturb the placid atmosphere of easy self-congratulation. He felt no need to remind students of a … kind of public service [that] entails more risks than community organizing. He felt no need to tell the graduating seniors in the lovely groves of Middletown that they should be grateful to their peers who were far away facing dangers on behalf of their country Nor did Obama choose to mention all those college graduates who are now entering the military, either for a tour of duty or as a career, in order to serve their country. He certainly felt no impulse to wonder whether the nation wouldn’t be better off if R.O.T.C. were more widely and easily available on elite college campuses.

Shame on Senator Obama for his soft, risk-free sermonizing.