Rich Cooper

Washington
,
Dec 2, 2009
 –

With the long-belabored deliberations of his war-council concluded
and the decision to deploy 30,000 troops to Afghanistan to get the job
done now revealed, I think it is worth noting the importance of the
“how” and “where” of last night’s speech. Earlier this week, Dana
Milbank of the Washington Post wrote about the use of military venues for Presidential speeches, and I couldn’t help but think of his words while watching President Obama address the audience at West Point last night.

While there are many on the ‘right’ and ‘left’ who will find fault
with whatever the President had to say, I give him an enormous amount
of credit for taking his orders directly to many of the men and women
who will be charged with implementing them. I would call it guts, even
“chutzpah,” to stand before a group of people, many of whom will die,
sacrifice limbs, and cause enormous heartbreak because of long
deployments and say, “This is what I am telling you to do for your country.”

The President could have given the same speech from the safe
confines of the Oval Office, and it would have been fine. Yet, there is
a difference between delivering a speech about sending people into
battle from the most famous office and giving it in front of the people
who will actually go into battle and die, be wounded and forever
changed.

It means you have to look them in the eye.

That could not be an easy feat for Obama. Based on comments during
their respective times as president, as well as their time out of the
Oval Office, we know it wasn’t easy for Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan or
any of Obama’s predecessors either. Even Lincoln, the hallmark of
Executive Branch leadership, bore the pain and burden physically and
emotionally, knowing he was sending people to die because of his orders.

As gutsy a move as it was for Obama to be face to face with those
who will encounter the hells and horrors of the battlefield because of his decision,
it was even more inspiring to me to look at the audience full of cadets
and see the best and brightest of our country, knowing that each of
them had volunteered their lives in service to their county.

The word, “Wow” does not fully capture the character of these
people and the thousands of others who wear our nation’s military
uniforms. But until I can find another word to describe them, it will
have to do.

God has blessed this nation with millions like them throughout our
history, and I couldn’t help but feel we were blessed once again last
night.

Wow.

This piece was originally posted on Security Debrief.