Obama eventually delivered his Memorial Day remarks.
A storm prevented him from making his speech as planned at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.
Instead, Obama gave his speech in a hangar at Andrews Air Force Base.
From the Washington Post:
It has been years since President Obama attended a rally like the one that took place Monday night at Andrews Air Force Base: sparsely attended, thrown together at the last minute, involving people who were not expecting to be there.
Yet that's what happened after a torrential downpour ruined well-laid presidential plans. Chased out of a Memorial Day service in Illinois by a fierce storm, Obama flew home to make remarks that he intended to deliver eight hours earlier. Instead of speaking in front of thousands, he addressed a small crowd of hastily summoned service members in a hangar.
Obama had planned to honor the holiday at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, about 50 miles south of Chicago. But on a day of small calamities, he stepped onstage at the moment a thunderstorm started. Lightning flashed, and a torrent of heavy rain pelted thousands of visitors standing in an open field.
...Suddenly, the president -- already facing some criticism for skipping the traditional Memorial Day service at Arlington National Cemetery -- had no public forum for honoring the nation's war dead.
...His advisers quickly arranged for him to meet with some service members huddled inside crowded buses -- a chance, at least, for him to deliver his thanks in private. He held another private meeting with veterans and their families a short time later at the Hines Fisher houses, a rehabilitation center outside Chicago.
On the way between the events, a sport-utility vehicle carrying White House advisers blew a tire, forcing the motorcade to a halt in the middle of the highway. No one was hurt.
...Only when he returned to Andrews did he deliver his Memorial Day remarks. Several of the service members who were gathered said they had been contacted at the last minute.
So they contacted service members at the last minute to attend Obama's speech.
Surprise! You're going to hear Obama speak!
The events of the day certainly didn't go as planned. An outdoor gathering is always at the mercy of the weather. When a strong thunderstorm comes along at the wrong time, it does. That was out of Obama's control.
It's unfortunate that all those waiting to hear him were disappointed but you can't have a crowd out in a field during an electrical storm.
Because of the rain-out, sound bites from Obama's speech came very late.
I think an effort should have been made to have Obama deliver his remarks earlier in the day. There had to be a hangar or some indoor facility he could have used.
Waiting until he returned to Washington was an unnecessarily long delay.
Transcript
OBAMA: On this day of remembrance, I say to every American, the legacy of these fallen soldiers, these fallen heroes, lives on in each of us. The security that lets us live in peace, the prosperity that allows us to pursue our dreams, the freedom that we cherish -- these were earned by the blood and the sacrifice of patriots who went before. And now it falls on us to preserve that inheritance for all who follow.
They proclaimed our unalienable rights, so let us speak out for the dignity of every human being and the rights that are universal. They saved the Union, so let us never stop working to perfect it. They defeated fascism and laid the foundation for decades of prosperity, so let us renew the sources of American strength and innovation at home. They forged alliances that won a long Cold War, so let us build the partnership for a just and lasting peace.
And today, our forces are fighting and dying once more, in faraway lands, to keep our homeland safe. Some of you have come from overseas deployments, some of you are about to go. Let us make sure that all of us are worthy of your sacrifice and of the sacrifices who have fallen. Let us go forward as they do, with the confidence and the resolve, the resilience and the unity that's always defined us as a people and shaped us as a nation and made America a beacon of hope to the world.
So may God bless our fallen heroes. May He comfort their families. May God bless all of you, and may God bless the United States of America.
Those are nice words to honor the fallen and our troops currently in harm's way.
Apparently, Obama has changed his position on the fighting and dying being done by our troops in Iraq.
On October 15, 2007, while campaigning in Madison, Wisconsin, Obama talked about Iraq. He told of how he spoke out against the war during his Illinois Senate campaign in 2002.
Obama said, "This is a dumb war, ...and we shouldn't fight it."
I wonder if Obama said that during his private meeting with veterans and their families yesterday.
"Sorry you were seriously wounded in that dumb war you shouldn't have been fighting."
Candidate Obama and current commander-in-chief Obama behave differently. At least I hope so.
Video.
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