Obama's Fort Hood screw-up

New in the Phoenix: Faith and Fort Hood

Election night open thread

22 Comments

• In Manhattan said:

  This is a screw up? Get some perspective. He was at Interior. There was a Native American conference. He directed remarks to that conference. Sheesh.

  November 6, 2009 3:07 PM

• Adam Reilly said:

  Absolutely, IM. When there's been a mass murder on a US Army base, and the nation's news networks turn to the president for his response, THAT'S what he should talk about first--as a matter both of principle and politics. Sequentially and tonally, the intro was a bad move.

  November 6, 2009 3:16 PM

• Don said:

  there is nothing strange or incongruous here.  i had to wait for someone's comment to even know what you're talking about.  what's screwed up is this post.

  November 6, 2009 3:26 PM

• Lou said:

  I seem to recall in past history where the president was mocked for not giving a national emergency prominent attention and I don't see how this is any different. I think he made a huge mistake and should be criticized for it. I feel to often when we don't like the current official we tend to hold them to a whole different level of accountability and that is wrong IMO

  November 6, 2009 4:14 PM

• Heather said:

  Hellllloooooo..... duh! The Native American Conference could have waited! The family, friends and soldiers should not have waited for "shout outs"

  PS I'm Native American....find some sense u ignorant people.

  November 6, 2009 4:14 PM

• Don said:

  In an emergency situation, with information flying and total chaos, who knows what was known just then.  Best not to form opinions without data.

  November 6, 2009 4:38 PM

• In Manhattan said:

  "Helllllooooo" is actually spelled "hello." "U" is spelled "you." Regardless of the president's timing, I'm not sure "shout outs" are the appropriate response in this case.

  November 6, 2009 4:46 PM

• Jake said:

  As we have already seen with Iraq and Afghanistan, American lives mean nothing to conservatives. They will use a tragedy like this to score some cheap political points. Unbelievable.

  November 6, 2009 7:33 PM

• Maggie said:

  Come on all you definders...the speech was made 4 hours after the incident. Face it, he just doesn't care about the military. Now I hear he will visit Fort Hood at some "undeclared" later date. Just exactly what are his priorties???

  November 6, 2009 8:13 PM

• Donna said:

  Give me a break.  This jerk hates the USA and the Military.  I hope all of you that voted for him can live with this mess.  This is just the beginning of the stuff to come.  GOD help us.

  November 6, 2009 9:04 PM

• sid said:

  yeah ... yeah ... what else next??

  November 6, 2009 9:20 PM

• Garu said:

  As a 30 year retired military member I have to say that a tragedy of this magnitude certainly should have taken more precedence than closing remarks to "Ed" and the other guy.  His first briefing to the pubic should have been focused on the shocking news, not that they had a nice conference.  This President continues to falter when it comes to good judgement and proper protocol to the military or leaders to other countries.  He continues to disappoint me in so many ways, domestic and overseas.

  (he does manage to get in a fair amount of golf though!!)

  November 7, 2009 12:27 AM

• jane said:

  Yet again Obama is showing his true colors. Wake up America! There has just been a Terrorist Attack & he is taking his sweet time like nothing happened.

  Its sad to say this is not shocking what happened  (ft hood) with Obama in office

  November 7, 2009 12:47 AM

• Karen said:

  With all sympathy to the victims and families of the Fort Hood tragedy

  The president may have made a minor gaff in the order of his speech. I'm willing to grant that.

  I'm a little confused--are people really comparing this to Hurricane Katrina, when 1000's of lives were lost and the president took days to return from vacation? Or is that The world trade center when national icons were destroyed along with those thousands of lives? A little proportion might be in order.

  November 7, 2009 4:13 AM

• Mark said:

  Sheesh, it's 4 hours after the shootings, he's speaking to a conference and not making a national address, he took 2 minutes to acknowledge the people he's speaking to before diving into the news cycle.   More stupidity from the talking-head agitators.  Look at the people who are commenting on your own blog. Same old, same old.  Adam, I'm surprised you brought it up.

  November 7, 2009 10:21 AM

• DAVID said:

  I DO NOT AGREE W/ MUCH OF THE PRESIDENT'S POLICIES. I CANNOT SEE THAT HE INTENTIONALLY WANTED TO DISHONOR ANYONE AT THE NATIVE AMERICAN CONFERENCE WHERE HE MADE THE COMMENTS NOR TO THE MILITARY IN THIS CASE BUT WITH THESE EVENTS AND THE MOTIVES OF OUR PRESIDENT UNCERTAIN. I PRAY WE LOOK UNTO THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE MORE IMPORTANT TO OUR NATION' FUTURE. GOD SAVE THESE UNITED STATED OF AMERICA.

  November 7, 2009 11:12 AM

• Adam said:

  Mark: on very rare occasions, my own assessment of an event might happen to agree with the right's, at least in part. This is one of them. While I don't for a minute think Obama hates the military, hates the US, etc., I do think he handled this poorly, and created a problem where none needed to exist.

  November 7, 2009 11:24 AM

• aging cynic said:

  Spot on, Adam. America wanted a different kind of President. I doubt that they planned on one THIS different.

  November 8, 2009 1:16 PM

• Randy said:

  This is such a non-issue. You need to pull your head out of your ass and look at the bigger picture.

  November 10, 2009 9:16 AM

• Cleombrotus said:

  I'm sorry but it's difficult to not look at this man through the prism of the incongruity of his being in that office. In a sane world, he would still be a junior Senator from Chicago, if that.

  Surely his election was not the result of an informed electorate making an informed decision and the implications of that should trouble all of us.

  November 16, 2009 11:10 AM

• Thomas said:

  First of all, the only thing that will "save" this country are free thinking individuals, not blind and ignorant belief in a centuries old superstition.

  Secondly, Hasan was not motivated politically, he was religiously motivated so I'm not sure this should be classified as an act of terrorism. Hasan followed a violent and minor sect of Islam. Until the evidence is in let's not label this terrorism. This was a religiously motivated act.

  Thirdly, unless this was a speech directed to the nation, which, judging by the Indian looking flags in the background, it was not, I didn't see anything wrong with the President's speech.

  November 21, 2009 11:37 AM

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