Hope and Fail

Shout-outs before tragedy

As the news stations cut away from their coverage of the tragic shooting at Ft. Hood today to broadcast President Obama’s remarks on the situation, viewers couldn’t help but feel jarred by what the president said.

The first two minutes of his four and a half minute remarks were dedicated to thanking those who organized the Tribal Nations Conference and giving a “shout-out.”

First, it’s unseemly for the president of the United States to give a “shout-out.” Even more so when the nation is waiting to hear from him during a national tragedy. Here’s what the president said:

Please, everybody have a seat. Let me first of all just thank Ken and the entire Department of the Interior staff for organizing just an extraordinary conference. I want to thank my Cabinet members and senior administration officials who participated today. I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow was around, and so I want to give a shout-out to that Congressional Medal of Honor* winner. It’s good to see you. (Applause.)

My understanding is, is that you had an extremely productive conference. I want to thank all of you for coming and for your efforts, and I want to give you my solemn guarantee that this is not the end of a process but a beginning of a process, and that we are going to follow up. (Applause.) We are going to follow up. Every single member of my team understands that this is a top priority for us. I want you to know that, as I said this morning, this is not something that we just give lip service to. And we are going to keep on working with you to make sure that the first Americans get the best possible chances in life in a way that’s consistent with your extraordinary traditions and culture and values.

Now, I have to say, though, that beyond that, I plan to make some broader remarks about the challenges that lay ahead for Native Americans, as well as collaboration with our administration, but as some of you might have heard, there has been a tragic shooting at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas.

The president should have began with, “I plan to make some broader remarks about the challenges that lay ahead for Native Americans …,” but he didn’t.

Whoever was handling the president should have done a better job, as Robert A. George notes:

Did the president’s team not realize what sort of image they were presenting to the country at this moment? The disconnect between what Americans at home knew had been going on — and the initial words coming out of their president’s mouth was jolting, if not disturbing. …

If the president’s communications apparatus can’t inform — and protect — their boss during tense moments when the country needs to see a focused commander-in-chief and a compassionate head of state, it has disastrous consequences for that president’s party and supporters.

Someone at the White House must have noticed, as the White House Blog entry omits the opening remarks.

And we can’t forget the hay the left made out of George W. Bush’s first moments on Sept. 11, 2001 — when he continued to read with schoolchildren before making any comments on the terrorist attacks of that day.