President Barak Obama touched down, unannounced, at Bargam Air Force Base in Afghanistan this afternoon to literally rally the troops...and he did just that.
Throughout the first half of his presidency the President's critics have labeled him as arrogant, wishy washy, and unpresidential. He has been accused of pushing his own agenda, which has turned out to be more to the left than expected, he has been unsuccessful in moving this country forward, and he has taken no ownership of the economy, growing national debt, or America's declining influence across the globe.
The American People have been waiting for his "Presidential Moment." where he is able to pick the nation up and begin to restore a sense of nationalism and restore the pride in being an American. Over the last two years, since Obama took office, to be a proud American has seemed taboo, or a secret organization. But perhaps, just perhaps, the President took a step forward today to bring back the Swagger which Americans have fought for and died for since the American Revolution today.
As he stood before the our troops today, in Afghanistan the President was humble, but strong, grateful and confident and even appreciative of what means to be an American. He acknowledged the strife of the Military to leave their families to protect the families of millions of strangers, he acknowledged the families of those in uniforms. He told the troops we are now on the offensive and not on the defensive, that we are forcing the Taliban out of there stronghold, and we are going to build a more prosperous Afghanistan, but also was effective in tying the mission back to September 11, 2001 without blaming his predecessor. He proclaimed he is never going to allow the cultivation of terrorist groups to attack America again.
"We'll never let Afghanistan be a safe haven for terrorists to attack America," asserted the President. He went onto to talk about the progress of the mission so far, and that with progress comes sacarifice and that the fight is a tough one with difficult days still ahead.
The President appeared to "get it."
He kept referring to the Soldiers as "your generation," several times drawing parallels to the "Greatest Generation" of World War II, acknowledging this generation has risen to the occasion each time their country came calling. He told the story of the soldier who received the Medal of Honor for not leaving his comrade behind. That Soldier's name is Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta, and the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam conflict. The recipient said he didn't do anything special, just his job, and said if he was a hero, than each man in woman in uniform is a hero, and Obama agreed, and rightfully so.
The President told his audience he was certain America's best days are not behind us, but indeed are ahead of us, due to the sacrifice of our troops. As he thanked the troops again, he made an effective comparison to the Founding Fathers of our Country. He ended by quoting the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The President will certainly have his share of critics for the this speech, but today President Barak Obama may have had a Presidential moment. Not to say this speech will be remembered a month from now, certainly won't be compared to President Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor speech, JFK's inauguration speech of passing the torch, or Ronald Reagan's speech at the Brandenburg Gate urging Russian Premier Mikhail Gorbechev to tear down the Berlin wall, but we owe it to the troops and their families to let the President have this one, today he deserves it.
