9/14-Bush And The Bullhorn. Plus A Question For President Obama

I'm going to start with my open question for President Obama. I wanted to ask this over the weekend but it seemed an inappropriate political moment. I do think it's an important question in evaluating Obama's actions as President.

On September 19th, 2001 then state Senator Barack Obama addressed a rally in Chicago. Here's what he had to say about the attacks just 8 days earlier.

We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity.

My question for the President is, after nearly 20 months in office and having access to whatever information he needs to exercise his responsibilities as Commander in Chief of the United States armed forces, does he still think "a fundamental absence of empathy" is the "essence" of what motivates the people we are fighting and who have tried to attack on US soils several times during his presidency?

Now, compare Obama's post attack rhetoric with then President George W. Bush's on 9/14/01 at the World Trade Center site.

posted by DrewM. at 10:35 AM

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