The 22 SEALs that gave their lives for this country are heroes; he was their Commander-in-Chief. If he had gone, and saluted alone, that would have been the correct honor due them.
What he did and allowed, a photo op, was not it.
The families asked for privacy under the current regulations – they should have been granted that given the circumstances. Given who they were, given their sacrifice (freely and willingly given), the families that these heroes left behind deserve far more than a single act of privacy for their time of grief. That time was EARNED. That is all they asked for. That was not what they were given.
What does it say about a Commander-in-Chief’s character that he turns a moment that should be about the heroes and their families into a moment for him instead? Granted, you could say that he did not know that he was being photographed. But that photograph had to be authorized to be made so publicly known.
He has certainly blamed Bush for many wrongs – and some of them deserved. One thing that former President did right was in his attitude toward those in the military and how he treated them – many times visiting them and their families without any publicity at all.
That was one act that would have served Obama well – paying homage with no one else around. As a double Blue Star Dad (as opposed to being a double Gold Star Dad), I can only imagine the emotions these families must be feeling – betrayal being the least of them: a final request denied.
Stolen valor. Has he no shame?
(H/T: RightWingNews)
