re: #346 _RememberTonyC

what fucking took him so long? he should have dropped EVERYTHING to get there ASAP. No excuses for him on this one.

The last thing Fort Hood needed was a disruptive Presidential visit in the days following the tragedy. The security and logistical requirements would have been a massive distraction from the ongoing investigations and recovery from the trauma.

Not surprisingly, sites like RS, HA and FR criticized the President for exploiting the tragedy, after his and the First Lady’s intent to visit Fort Hood and attend the memorial service was announced, and then after it was reported Former President Bush visited, they flipped their criticism 180 degrees to not visiting soon enough, and being somehow shown up by the Former President’s getting there first.

re: #364 MandyManners

At the very least, he could’ve carved out some time that day for a televised message from the Oval Office.

He addressed the nation on the day of the tragedy, again the following day, ordered federal flags flown at half-staff and both he and the first lady will attended the memorial service at Fort Hood on Tuesday. After being informed of the situation, he phoned the base’s commanding general, Lt. Gen. Robert Cone and offered him any assistance he could provide. He’s received constant updates, spoke with with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and other Pentagon officials, met with FBI chief Robert Mueller and other federal agencies to discuss the shooting and declared a moment of silence for U.S. military forces worldwide.

I’m not sure how it can be argued that he hasn’t demonstrated his thoughts, attention and prayers are with the victims (especially if you compare his response to many previous administrations’ responses to similar tragedies).