The Anchoress:
Back in 2006, I wrote about the artlessness of Hillary Clinton, who could have turned a story around to her advantage, and seemed masterful and above the fray at the same time. Hillary was artless.
Today we’re watching another display of political artlessness going down at the World War II Memorial, where 90-year old veterans of that war are being wheeled to that monument (and apparently the Lincoln memorial) by personal attendees — some of whom, no doubt, are trained in CPR — and the Obama government, who handled yesterday stupidly, is heading into a face off with them, by erecting spite fences around a completely open-air memorial*.
In denying the group of aged veterans permission to enter the memorial, Obama, like Hillary in 2006, missed an opportunity to turn the whole story around, and brilliantly: Instead of denying the veterans — who are very old, unlikely to be making a second trip and who have damn well earned the right to see their memorial — Obama should have personally greeted them there, respectfully toured the memorial with them, listened to a few stories and then made some remarks about how everything the veterans have fought for is now “under attack and being threatened” by politicking, and extremism and we must always fight for all Americans, rhetoric, rhetoric blah, blah”, and the president should have posed for pictures with the vets and promised that “any vet could always come to their memorials, whether the government is shut down or not, because we owe them that much.”
The press would have eaten it up, and Obama — particularly if he had been able to discipline himself (questionable) to speaking respectfully of the opposition, and not calling them his “enemies”, or “terrorists” — would have absolutely defused this story, and made himself look masterful in the process. Instead of creating a bad-optics story out of stubbornness and spite, he’d have completely owned the story, to his advantage.
Yes, I know, such a statement would properly have to go to congress, so “funding” for the parks could be re-instated, but Obama has no problem issuing Executive Fiats to laws outside of what is strictly required — he’s done it many times with the Affordable Care Act — so I am sure he would be given a pass for letting the veteran’s through.
Even Democrats are getting into the swing of standing there to make sure these veterans can get in!
Also, as of today, Obama made sure there were more security forces guarding the WWII Memorial from visiting veterans than there were security forces guarding our Ambassador in Benghazi a year ago!
Ya gotta wonder about the O-man. For someone who’s supposed to be the master manipulator from the party of manipulators, he sure seems clueless here. Even more than is usual. Of, course he’s still protected by media that loves him.