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9/11 Anniversary: President Obama Addresses Nation on 9/11

By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 01:09:58 PM EST
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President Obama addressed the nation today on the 9/11 anniversary. His message: Stay true to who we are as Americans.

“The highest honor we can pay those we lost, indeed our greatest weapon in this ongoing war, is to do what our adversaries fear the most – to stay true to who we are, as Americans; to renew our sense of common purpose; to say that we define the character of our country, and we will not let the acts of some small band of murderers who slaughter the innocent and cower in caves distort who we are,” he said.

Thoughts?

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    9/11 Anniversary: President Obama Addresses Nation on 9/11 | 31 comments (31 topical)

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    Nice words, but that ship (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by caseyOR on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 01:44:17 PM EST
    has sailed. We betray the legacy of the founders and our ancestors everyday that we allow the national security state that the US has become to rule our lives.

    Restore the Constitution! is my new rallying cry.

    How about tolerance, not appesement (5.00 / 3) (#3)
    by diogenes on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 02:13:49 PM EST
    Maybe a speech saying that America is about allowing people to put crucifixes in urine and calling it art, drawing Danish political cartoons, writing the Satanic Verses, ripping up the Pope's picture on Saturday Night Live, drawing South Park cartoons, building Islamic cultural centers near the WTC site, and even "treating the president like a dog".  That all of these things are tolerated even if they are poor judgment.  And that these things INCLUDE burning Qurans, Bibles, American flags, etc, etc.  And that Americans won't tremble in fear if these things offend some bullies who make terrorist threats because Americans will redouble their efforts to protect freedom of expression no matter how much we may dislike what is expressed.

    Maybe a speech about (none / 0) (#6)
    by jondee on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 02:39:54 PM EST
    how America is not about continuing to allow it's future and foreign policy philosophy and strategy to be hi-jacked by a coterie of Machiavellian, Project for a New American Century chickenhawks and their obsequious, hysteria-mongering errand boys and girls..

    That, from now on, this traditional bulwark against the influence of fanatical theocracy will attempt to be a better example to the other nations of the world by, in the interests of sanity, marginalizing those whose vision of enlightened self-interest and democracy has been degraded into service to grandiose, mythic visions of special destiny which posit ever mounting blood-letting and the continued sacrifice of our best and brightest.

       

    Parent

    I hear you loud and clear (none / 0) (#12)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 07:15:09 PM EST
    I'm very stuck on this at this moment because I know that a culture that does affect my reality does not understand that burning a Quran or a flag or whatever is simply a right to free speech, and God always survives it.  I have a heart and soul born and raised in the USA, and a husband who will likely serve one more tour in Afghanistan because it means a lot to him and he wants to.  I know what people think on one side of the world in a certain place, and it gets very life and death for them right now, while I'm free to bathe in truth where I live on the other side of planet.....and I don't know the answer to that specific gap in what is real and real life and a freed mind capable of huge leaps and bounds and what is ruling dogma of the land.  As someone who also indulges in "art days" I reserve the right to draw Mohammad too :)  I am torn between what is real and a working respect....I am torn

    Parent
    The discordant note for me is that (5.00 / 3) (#11)
    by Anne on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 05:28:09 PM EST
    I don't think Obama has stayed true to who we are as Americans, or to what this country was built on; the wholesale continuation of the Bush policies, the justification for doing so, and Obama's refusal to hold anyone accountable for their actions tells the real tale, and it is completely disconnected from his high-flown rhetoric.

    I can't begin to express how badly I wanted this president to make a clear and unequivocal stand for what America is supposed to stand for, and how disheartening it is to know that he has not only not deviated from the path Bush set us on, but has taken us farther - and father awy from - who we are supposed to be and what we are supposed to represent.

    Obama On AutoPilot (none / 0) (#17)
    by norris morris on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 10:13:53 PM EST
    This is all a re-hash of the same old. There has been NOTHING new about Obama including his offfensive disconnect.  He has brought along the wonks in his cabinet whose outstanding virtues seem to be ham handed opportunistic politics, combined with a total lack of connectiveness and competence.

    This is Bush in a different suit, without any vision,strategy,or daylight.

    Parent

    Yes! Stay true to who we are (5.00 / 2) (#15)
    by Cream City on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 09:36:49 PM EST
    starting with FISA.

    Then, we'll talk -- about the rest of the to-do list.

    I was thinking of Obama DOJ invoking (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 10:44:08 PM EST
    "revised" state secrets doctrine to beat down lawsuit stemming from Bush II renditions.

    Parent
    just one (none / 0) (#1)
    by Left of the Left on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 01:25:59 PM EST
    ..now watch this drive

    Well written but not moving (none / 0) (#4)
    by Marvin42 on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 02:21:30 PM EST
    Don't know why but the sound of the jet engine in the backdrop caused more emotion for me than the speech. The words were there, but there was something missing.

    Missing In Action? (none / 0) (#18)
    by norris morris on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 10:42:34 PM EST
    Marvin42,

    What's missing was a President who can lead and inspire, who is connected to the  people and  live up to his promises.

    What's missing was and is  a resemblance of a cohesive
    administration conducted with a united vision that  can be articulated and explained with clarity and conviction.

    What's missing is concern and understanding for those who are suffering, and Obama's current catch-up is too little too late.

    Parent

    Yes (none / 0) (#5)
    by goldberry on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 02:29:36 PM EST
    I think his speechwriters have been cribbing from bloggers.

    Follow The Money (none / 0) (#7)
    by squeaky on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 04:02:30 PM EST
    The right wing has profited and gotten stronger because of 9/11.

    They were praying for such an event to happen.

    I don't believe that for a second. (none / 0) (#13)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 09:14:45 PM EST


    Parent
    Patriot Act And AUMF (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by squeaky on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 11:34:07 PM EST
    For starters.

    Section V of Rebuilding America's Defenses [PNAC], entitled "Creating Tomorrow's Dominant Force", includes the sentence: "Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event--like a new Pearl Harbor"


    Parent
    Me either (none / 0) (#16)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 10:03:11 PM EST


    Parent
    I did see headlines today. State of CA (none / 0) (#19)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 10:42:42 PM EST
    is benefitting bigtime from increased mfg. of drone aircraft.  

    Parent
    It is an intimidating evolution (none / 0) (#24)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Sep 12, 2010 at 10:31:00 AM EST
    A small easy way to monitor all of us with no knowledge of it on our part.  And I would say it is a serious military evolution.  My conservative bro in law hates them because they are kicking him out of his job and the past prestige of his job as an AF pilot.  My husband has evolved though, didn't expect to simply become a pilot and then just sit there after that on some throne :)  The drone evolution though is troubling in some respects. It is sort of funny though that the one career pilot who is part of the party of "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" isn't doing anything other than whine now, and the Independent career pilot is evolving into something other than a pilot and it didn't occur to him to whine :)

    Parent
    Defense spending is getting slashed (none / 0) (#25)
    by Politalkix on Sun Sep 12, 2010 at 11:15:55 AM EST
    A number of articles appeared in recent weeks in newspapers like the NY Times, Washington Post and LA Times about consolidation in the defense sector owing to cuts in defense spending. These articles never get discussed in TL. Lack of such discussions often have the unintended effect of promoting ill informed hysterical posts about the Obama administration dismantling middle class life through "cat food commissions" while "continuing Bush administration policies".

    Please read the following links
    link 1

    link 2

    link 3

    Parent

    Double digit growth to single digit growth..... (none / 0) (#26)
    by Rojas on Sun Sep 12, 2010 at 11:44:34 AM EST


    Parent
    keep the definition of growth and cuts (none / 0) (#27)
    by Politalkix on Sun Sep 12, 2010 at 12:27:10 PM EST
    the same for defense spending and social security/medicare/medicaid spending for honest discussion. If you want to do it by per capita or % of GDP, etc, it will be fine with me.
    Workers in engineering and manufacturing industries like steel, chemicals, automotives, electronics and telecommunications, etc have suffered greatly (job losses, career changes) in the last 3 decades to satisfy the moronic "vision" of leaders in this country to transition the economy to a "service oriented" one. Such misguided vision has destroyed a large chunk of the technological base as well as the middle class in America.

    Parent
    After years of crazy Iraq War (none / 0) (#28)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Sep 12, 2010 at 01:14:24 PM EST
    and blank checks blanketing the defense contractor landscape....I wonder what "slashed spending" looks like when compared to say the 80's or the 90's :)  My spouse has decided to learn more, be more, do more, understand more.  I don't see him unemployed any time soon unless some insurgent makes him forever unemployed.  I would say that we will have less waste but they will continue to crank out drones and newer redesigned drones because that is the direction we are going in.  Probably not many new fighter jets though being operated by inflated egos making an additional $25,000 bonus a year just for being a fathead :)

    Parent
    In the 1990s (none / 0) (#29)
    by Politalkix on Sun Sep 12, 2010 at 02:29:59 PM EST
    a wave of consolidation (beginning in 1993)occured in the aerospace and defense industry. Many workers lost their jobs in the process. Two other tech busts occured in (1998 and 2000). Government did not spend to improve the scientific and engineering infrastructure in the country. Many engineering and manufacturing workers in the private sector had to evolve to be employed once again during that decade.
    I am sure that they will do OK once again, even if cuts in defense projects are made. They may have to find work in other fields. However, if engineering and manufacturing workers in the private sector are expected to evolve all the time, shouldn't we ask the same from our public union supported teachers, tenured college professors, administators, firefighters, nurses, etc? :-).
    Your spouse has the right attitude towards change. He should be commended for it. However, I feel that a large part of the democratic base (teachers, tenured college professors, trial lawyers, public sector union employees) do not share that attitude.

    Parent
    Trial lawyers resist change? (none / 0) (#30)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Sep 12, 2010 at 05:30:07 PM EST
    How so?  I have no college professors in my family.  I come from a very liberal family that is made up of a lot of small business owners and for some reason nurses.

    Parent
    Digby on 9/11 (none / 0) (#23)
    by squeaky on Sun Sep 12, 2010 at 09:48:19 AM EST
    The people of New York deserve a lot of credit for keeping their wits about them on that day. It's too bad the government didn't stay as cool and instead decided to use it as an excuse to bring their neocon wet dream to life.

    digby

    How easily some forget....

    Parent

    Well, this ship (none / 0) (#8)
    by scribe on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 04:15:49 PM EST
    we will not let the acts of some small band of murderers who slaughter the innocent and cower in caves distort who we are

    has long since sailed.  We were subjected to hour upon hour of rerunning the video of those planes crashing into the WTC as the background for law professors screaming how we should torture people to get information, screams about how the Arabs/Muslims were animals (said a little more delicately than that), and why we needed to remake the Middle East into democracies at the point of a gun, not to mention bad TV movies, coverups from minute one on the failures (or worse) that led to the incidents of that day, and so on.

    I could take Obama seriously - rather then discount this as another episode of pretty speechifying - if he would be undoing the crimes of the Bush Administration.  Since he's chosen to continue them and go further down that same road, well....

    But I'm just a f'g retard, so no one listens to me.  I won't bother to vote, either.

    9/11 Tribute (none / 0) (#9)
    by squeaky on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 04:32:02 PM EST
    Here is a whole load of kitch.... better get a hanky...

    Oh, and much of it is still available for purchase.....  you too can bond with real americans..

    wow (none / 0) (#31)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Sep 13, 2010 at 09:28:17 AM EST
    that was actually just about as scary as the attacks themselves

    Parent
    Words words and more words ! (none / 0) (#10)
    by samsguy18 on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 04:35:10 PM EST
    IMO he projects the sincerity of a turnip

    At the baseball game today, many sailors (none / 0) (#14)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 09:17:27 PM EST
    rolled out the giantico U.S. flag used for the Holiday Bowl.  Then we were asked to remain standing for a moment of silence for the victims of 9/11.  But the "moment" only lasted about 15 seconds.  Short attention spans, I guess.  Kind of pathetic.

    Gee, one could have upholstered an entire (none / 0) (#22)
    by Compound F on Sun Sep 12, 2010 at 03:20:00 AM EST
    drawing room of over-stuffed furniture with such platitudes.  Meanwhile, he renewed the national state of emergency (triple yawn).  Who believes a word the guy says?

    9/11 Anniversary: President Obama Addresses Nation on 9/11 | 31 comments (31 topical)

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