http://hillbuzz.org/2009/11/10/thank-you-former-president-george-w-bush-and-former-first-lady-laura-bush/

For too many years we have had our emotions played until we have become afraid of our own shadows. Emotions in times of crisis are far less successful than cold, calculated thinking and response. Time will tell as we see how his actions lead, but before you criticize for what you call his emotional detachment, consider where others emotional responses have led us. Do we need an emotional call for justice and revenge when we have the killer in custody and still wait to find out exactly what caused his actions?

There’s a fine line any leader must tread in such situations for fear of public response to such events. Where would we be if he had responded in an emotional manner and we then saw public violence against Americans of Middle Eastern descent? There’s more to consider than just the moral of the troops as well as how do we get that support from allies if Americans spurred by the words of our president take matters into their own hands as we saw happen after 911 or some start a public outcry for the same type of actions we saw against Japanese Americans during WWII? Can you honestly say after 911 we didn’t see hate crimes against those of Middle Eastern ethnicity who had nothing to do with the events rise dramatically?

With this of all kinds of attacks, an American armed forces member of Middle Eastern descent and a practicing Muslim doing such a horrific act on an Army base on American soil, the potential fallout in the general public is a nightmare. And you know as well as any of us that the possibility of just one nut case deciding to “make them pay” and go on a shooting spree of his own in an Islamic community, house of worship or school is already high. Not to mention the nightmare of our soldiers wondering if the person serving next to them is another such shooter.

I didn’t miss the point. We have seen where the emotions of a leader have led us and the results of his following actions very well in both 911 and Katrina. There is a fine line and more considerations than putting on a good show of sympathy for the public and the families here.

You seem to have completely missed the point. Obama is supposed to be leading “his” troops, soliciting support from allies and waging psychological warfare against our enemies. He’s doing the polar opposite time after time, in one opportunity after another. The result will be more soldiers killed and defeat on the battlefield.

There’s nothing in my message that evinces “hatred” of Obama. Disgust and disappointment, maybe, but not hatred.

Silly question to ask someone who describes Bush as “extremely caring” and “humanitarian”. What ever was I thinking?

Let me be clear here, I’m not a great fan of Obama, but neither do I have the hatred for him that you seem to have. It’s not a case of apples and oranges as I can tell you that the people of our Gulf Coast would have been a lot happier if Bush would have ended his vacation a bit sooner, skipped the flyover, the photo op at the cathedral and the immortal “You’re doing a heck of a job.” moment with Brownie and actually paid more attention and taken control of the situation sooner. They also would have been happy if he had been more interested in our own Gulf Coast instead of the one in the Middle East. Sad faces, pretty words and empty promises mean nothing when followed by a lack of action. A feel good moment means nothing when it isn’t backed by the actions directed towards solving the problem and alleviating human suffering.

The question one should be asking is what’s more important, that the president spend his time showing the nation his sympathy and sorrow for a tragedy or what actions he takes to remedy the problem. Be it 911, Katrina or Fort Hood, in my opinion actions will speak much more loudly than words. We’ve heard Bush’s words and seen his actions. I’m sure we have very different opinions on their worth. We have heard Obama’s words, so let’s now see what actions he follows them up with and then make a judgment on what is worth more to the American people. We shouldn’t judge a president on his popularity with the people of our country, but with what he does to improve our condition, preserve our safety and guarantee our rights as citizens. We shall see.