Heros don’t spike the football

As a companion piece to my post earlier concerning the special forces community, Jim Geraghty points us over to a Facebook post with video at Veterans for a Strong America.

Let me introduce you to the pronoun “I” …

The different tone President Obama uses concerning military accomplishments is different than President Bush’s (43) tone. Certainly, Obama prominently mentioned and praised the military, intelligence and counterterrorism professionals after bin Laden’s death, but the tone really is different.The full transcript of Obama’s speech after the death is here, but here are some snippets.

“Tonight, I can report … And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta … I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden … I met repeatedly with my national security team … I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action … Today, at my direction … I’ve made clear … Over the years, I’ve repeatedly made clear … Tonight, I called President Zardari … and my team has also spoken … These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief  … Finally, let me say to the families … I know that it has, at times, frayed …”

As a comparison, here is the full text of Bush’s speech from 2003.

Yesterday, December the 13th, at around 8:30 p.m. Baghdad time, United States military forces captured Saddam Hussein alive. He was found near a farmhouse outside the city of Tikrit in a swift raid conducted without casualties. And now the former dictator of Iraq will face the justice he denied to millions.

The capture of this man was crucial to the rise of a free Iraq. It marks the end of the road for him and for all who bullied and killed in his name.

For the Baathist holdouts largely responsible for the current violence, there will be no return to the corrupt power and privilege they once held.

For the vast majority of Iraqi citizens who wish to live as free men and women, this event brings further assurance that the torture chambers and the secret police are gone forever.

And this afternoon, I have a message for the Iraqi people: You will not have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein ever again.

All Iraqis who take the side of freedom have taken the winning side. The goals of our coalition are the same as your goals: sovereignty for your country, dignity for your great culture, and for every Iraqi citizen, the opportunity for a better life.

In the history of Iraq, a dark and painful era is over. A hopeful day has arrived. All Iraqis can now come together and reject violence and build a new Iraq.

The success of yesterday’s mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq. The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator’s footprints in a vast country.

The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our service men and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people.

Their work continues, and so do the risks.

Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our armed forces, and I congratulate them.

I also have a message for all Americans: The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people, and they will be defeated.

We’ve come to this moment through patience and resolve and focused action, and that is our strategy moving forward. The war on terror is a different kind of war, waged capture by capture, cell by cell and victory by victory.

Our security is assured by our perseverance and by our sheer belief in the success of liberty. And the United States of America will not relent until this war is won.

May God bless the people of Iraq, and may God bless America.

Thank you.

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Steve McGough

Steve's a part-time conservative blogger. Steve grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Washington, D.C. and the Bahamas. He resides in Connecticut, where he’s comfortable six months of the year.

7 Comments

  1. Dimsdale on May 2, 2012 at 10:24 am

    It is hard for a narcissist to hide their belief in what is truly important: themselves.? This is a guy that seriously believes his own BS.
    ?
    ’nuff said.



  2. liz2012 on May 2, 2012 at 4:14 pm

    Obama certainly appears to have some degree of a narcissistic personality disorder but I think this is more of a distraction technique as he is trying to get voters to focus on one of his only ‘supposed’ accomplishments and not on the disastrous economy or on Obamacare.? It is sort of like the kid who gets one A on a report card and the rest of the grades are D and F.? It only makes sense then to focus on the one A.? For God’s sake, it’s all he’s got!



  3. JBS on May 2, 2012 at 6:16 pm

    The Zero HAD to let the military finish its hunt for OBL. The hunt was not of the Zero’s initiation, it was started shortly after 9/11. Ironically, IF the Zero had NOT ordered let the military continue and subsequently kill OBL, it would have been the end of the political life of the Zero.
    I’m sure that on some level, Obama didn’t really want OBL dead. As long as he was alive, there was always someone worse that Obama.



  4. GdavidH on May 2, 2012 at 6:41 pm

    If he doesn’t spike it someone will do it for him!
    Tingles as quoted….
    ?I imagine being a soldier over there [and] this is what you want to hear,? Matthews said, as if he was wearing military fatigues.
    Matthews also likened the leadership of President Obama to that of Henry V of England.???



  5. Anne-EH on May 3, 2012 at 7:51 am

    Obama “knows” he has a record that is not good, so it is no surprise that he is “spiking the football” on the taking down of Osama Bin Laden.



  6. phil on May 3, 2012 at 8:45 am

    My mother would call it “suffering from ‘I’ strain.”



  7. Murphy on May 3, 2012 at 12:04 pm

    Fire is his only friend……………….



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