By Kristina Wong

Nov 5, 2009 5:24pm

President Obama Speaks About Fort Hood Tragedy

From Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller:

“As some of you might have heard there has been a tragic shooting at the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas,” President Obama said this afternoon at the Department of Interior, speaking at a previously scheduled Tribal Nations Conference meeting of Native American leaders.

“We don’t yet know all the details at this moment,” the president continued. “We will share them as we get them. What we do know is that a number of American soldiers have been killed and even more have been wounded in a horrific outburst of violence.”

“My immediate thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and with the families of the fallen and those who live and serve at Ft. Hood,” he said. “These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis. It’s difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It  is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on American soil.”

The president said he’s spoken to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen “and I will continue to get a constant stream of updates as new information comes in. We are working with the Pentagon, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, who all have been assured that the fort has been secured, and we will continue to support the community with the full resources of the federal government.”

A White House official says that the Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, FBI and other members of the intelligence community are “assessing and gathering facts about the shooting. Because this is early in this event we cannot – at this time – confirm motives behind these shootings.”

The president said he asked Americans in the meantime “to keep the men and women of Fort Hood in your thoughts and prayers. We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident and I want all of you to know that as commander-in-chief there is no greater honor but also no greater responsibility for me than to make sure that the extraordinary men and women in uniform are properly cared for and their safety and security when they are at home is provided for. So we are going to stay on this. But I hope in the meantime that all of you recognize the scope of this tragedy and keep everybody in your thoughts and prayers.”

It’s worth noting that Fort Hood is located in Killeen, Texas, home to the deadliest shooting rampage in modern US history until the Virginia tech Massacre: The Luby’s Massacre. On October 16, 1991, George Jo Hennard, 35, drove his pickup truck through the window of a Luby’s Cafeteria.  Armed with with a Glock 17 and a Ruger P-89, Hennard killed 23 people, wounded 20 others, then shot himself.

-Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller

User Comments

This goes on at military bases around the world. This is absolute PROOF only civilians should own guns!

Posted by: AttorneyatLaw | November 5, 2009, 5:37 pm 5:37 pm

Major Malik Nadal Hasan was upset about having to deploy according to local reports. Local radio has said he was a Muslim convert.

Posted by: Cyane | November 5, 2009, 5:49 pm 5:49 pm

This is absolute PROOF only civilians should own guns!
AttorneyatLaw | Nov 5, 2009 5:37:24 PM
Not the time for stupid jokes.
Good men and women who put their lives on the line to serve our nation were senselessly murdered. My prayers go out to their families and loved ones.

Posted by: jhw539 | November 5, 2009, 5:50 pm 5:50 pm

Are civilians also going to go fight this war for us? Remember friend that military personal are only human as are the rest of us and in a time of stress they may break down as well. It was not military personal that shot up Columbine or Virginia Tech. This is just much more shocking because of what these men represent. Be smart and think about what your saying before you say it unless you are ready to hold the responsibilty that these men and women do. P.S. Every civilian with a gun is just a wanna be soldier with out the guts to join up. Thank you for your stupid comment though it is much appreciated.

Posted by: Derek | November 5, 2009, 5:53 pm 5:53 pm

My husband is there, he is about to be deployed as well. I am waiting to hear he is safe.

Posted by: Jenn Hunt | November 5, 2009, 5:57 pm 5:57 pm

Jenn,
I can only pray that your husband is safe. Please comment when you hear and let us know that he is alright.

Posted by: Derek | November 5, 2009, 6:02 pm 6:02 pm

Bless you, Jean. H, and good luck.
Lots of conflicting stories flying around…

Posted by: Fascist Hyena | November 5, 2009, 6:03 pm 6:03 pm

jesus….ABC is reporting that an Army Major did this.
“The suspected gunman was identified by ABC News as Major Malik Nadal Hasan”

Posted by: Ryan C | November 5, 2009, 6:04 pm 6:04 pm

Personal are not allowed to carry weapons on base unless they are mp’s.
The comments regarding the inability of the victims to protect themselves from what may well be a terror attack should be taken seriously.
That they have rushed to say it is not terrorism says little in an administration that has changed the definition to “person caused disaster”.

Posted by: yamal | November 5, 2009, 6:05 pm 6:05 pm

We offer our prayers for those who died and for their families and offer our condolences to their families.
We pray for those who were injured and for their families.
May God bring comfort to the grieving and to the wounded and to the families.
May God bless all of our courageous men and women who serve our country.

Posted by: abby de l'abbey | November 5, 2009, 6:13 pm 6:13 pm

Obama never ever ceases to amaze me.
He was actually giving shout outs to someone in the audience, making casual comments like it was any other speech.
Some in the audience were yelling and clapping to Obama’s shout out!
What the heck?!!
Then Obama finally got around to talking about the tragedy at Fort Hood.
The man is clueless…

Posted by: hank | November 5, 2009, 6:58 pm 6:58 pm

Before he commented on the shooting, he goes around giving shout outs to people in the room.

Posted by: BigSky | November 5, 2009, 7:02 pm 7:02 pm

Jenn H- please keep us posted. My thoughts are with you.

Posted by: MayBee | November 5, 2009, 7:07 pm 7:07 pm

I did not vote for George Bush.
And did not really start to appreciate him until it was time for him to leave office.
But I always felt some sense of comfort from him any time there was a crisis. Like he was in control and would do anything to protect us.
Listening to Obama today I feel no sense of comfort or security from him.
I could not believe he went on with other trivial business before addressing the murder of our troops in Texas.
He was so cavalier, so unaffected.
Did the murder of 12 troops not deserve his complete attention for even a few minutes.

Posted by: millie | November 5, 2009, 7:09 pm 7:09 pm

“Huge Military Slaughter — But First A “Shout Out” to Obama’s Bud”
David Horowitz speaks, hank & bigsky parrot

Posted by: Ryan C | November 5, 2009, 7:16 pm 7:16 pm

Obama’s little performance stunt is not going to win him any fans.
He put the political pandering before even aknowledging the victims of the terror attack.
Watching this guy turns my stomach.

Posted by: yamal | November 5, 2009, 7:18 pm 7:18 pm

When the President started speaking, I thought it CNN was playing the wrong tape. Then I saw other networks were running the same thing, and I thought there was a mistake and no one had told the President about Fort Hood. I was shocked when after the long intro about native american issues he turned to Ft. Hood. Unbelievable

Posted by: Rick | November 5, 2009, 7:25 pm 7:25 pm

You know, it is so sad that people insist on focusing on the smallest things possible, in the midst of a major tragedy. So what if Obama addressed, shouted out, etc.,whoever. The fact remains that he was there to support our troops and the families who has lost loved ones. It is also sad that adults still have the mentality of newborns, by rendering jokes at such a time as this. My God have mercy! We need to pray and continue to pray for the nation as a whole. My heart and sympathy goes out to them all. To the ladies who are wondering if their family member is ok, you are in my prayers as well.

Posted by: EmpressJ | November 5, 2009, 7:34 pm 7:34 pm

I don’t think I have ever been more angry at Obama.
I am not a fan of his. But I did want to hear our president comfort the nation during a tragedy.
How do we know this was not some kind of terrorist attack. So I actually for once did want to hear him speak to the nation.
I could not believe he was giving shout outs to people in the audience, congratulating his administration about something.
Was this not a big enough tragedy to merit his complete attention?

Posted by: bailey | November 5, 2009, 7:34 pm 7:34 pm

Hey Jake why don’t you show the complete transcript?
I think you left off the part where Obama was whooping it up with the audience.
Can someone give this guy a lesson on how to have some class?

Posted by: kyle | November 5, 2009, 7:37 pm 7:37 pm

The shout out was completely inappropriate and disgusting. You should be ashamed Mr. President. God bless those who lost their lives today, which is what our president should have been focusing on.

Posted by: Mike | November 5, 2009, 7:38 pm 7:38 pm

Jenn
I said a prayer for you and the others at Fort Hood.

Posted by: bailey | November 5, 2009, 7:40 pm 7:40 pm

Jenn, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Posted by: hpratt | November 5, 2009, 7:48 pm 7:48 pm

Before I offer my condolensces let me give a few shout outs.
What is he thinking?

Posted by: tyler | November 5, 2009, 7:51 pm 7:51 pm

@EmpressJ – Let me get this straight, you are going to be upset with people being inappropriate with jokes AND for calling out the Commander-in-Chief for what was a truly an appalling and insensitive display before putting on his “serious face” to talk about this tragedy. The president should have enough sense to know that this was far more important than congratulating his staff and giving a “shout out” to a person in the audience. I’m betting that everyone there would have understood him addressing this horrifying situation BEFORE worrying about closing out today’s show conference for Native Americans. You can’t be mad at others for their jokes and excuse Obama’s behavior without being completely hypocritical.

Posted by: Mark | November 5, 2009, 8:07 pm 8:07 pm

Stop covering for Obama!
Tell the truth.
We had a national tragedy today.
Let everyone see how our president handles it.
Don’t scrub the part where he was giving lighthearted shout outs with a cheering audience.
Then instantly switched to concerned Commander In Chief.
It was really really bad.

Posted by: luke | November 5, 2009, 8:09 pm 8:09 pm

“This goes on at military bases around the world.”
You’re saying our own troops shoot each other all the time?
I think our troops are better than that. Got some proof?

Posted by: PD | November 5, 2009, 8:11 pm 8:11 pm

@Mark-Both are inappropriate. Now, let me get this straight Mark, You’d rather focus on the what I said in reference to the “little things” than to focus on the situation at hand? There are people who lost lives here. Obama, you, the joke tellers nor I, am the issue right now. There is a time and place for everything. All I am saying is that he showed up and spoke about it. To the families, that is important. You and I can go back and forth on this but again, the troops and their families are the main focus. If you have something to say about them (directing it back to me)then we can discuss it. Other than that you have a blessed night.

Posted by: EmpressJ | November 5, 2009, 8:18 pm 8:18 pm

No event is too solemn for the right wingers to take the opportunity to demean the President?
Show some class yourselves.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 8:22 pm 8:22 pm

The “shout out” was terrible yet no one in the media is reporting it not even the right wingers. Maybe they don’t want to look tacky by reporting Obama’s tacky behavior. For once maybe the media is showing a little class.

Posted by: Lila | November 5, 2009, 8:28 pm 8:28 pm

No one demeans Obama more than he does himself.

Posted by: ceeLeelee | November 5, 2009, 8:44 pm 8:44 pm

lila
You make good sense.
Obama’s shout out was so tacky that no one really wants to “go there” and show it again.
It was jaw dropping tacky.
Someone needs to give him sensitivity training–before the next tragedy.

Posted by: hank | November 5, 2009, 8:45 pm 8:45 pm

I was shocked when I heard about the shooting. However, I was even more shocked when I watched the press conference and Obama had to give a shout out and laugh before he acknowledged the tragedy at Ft. Hood. Of course the media will cut the first minute of the tape when they run the footage, but it was seen….BAD, Very Bad Mr. President…this wasn’t Letterman.

Posted by: DMG | November 5, 2009, 8:47 pm 8:47 pm

“Obama’s shout out was so tacky that no one really wants to “go there” and show it again.”
_________________________________
No, it’s because most people are able to maturely separate the closing remarks of the forum from the separate remarks the President had to make about the incident today.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 8:51 pm 8:51 pm

The President of the United States speaking to the people of the United States regarding a national tragedy giving “shout outs”. America we need a change to a leader who reflects our country. God help us… Oh no, am I allowed to say that?

Posted by: andy | November 5, 2009, 8:59 pm 8:59 pm

“No event is too solemn for the right wingers to take the opportunity to demean the President?”
The complaint is that the President didn’t treat the event in a very solemn way himself by engaging in that shout-out to his pal.
If you’re concerned about how the event was treated, look to the President.

Posted by: PD | November 5, 2009, 9:02 pm 9:02 pm

The President of the United States speaking to the people of the United States regarding a national tragedy giving “shout outs”.
_______________________________________
Most people are able to maturely separate the closing remarks of the forum from the separate remarks the President had to make about the incident today.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 9:03 pm 9:03 pm

The complaint is that the President didn’t treat the event in a very solemn way himself by engaging in that shout-out to his pal.
_______________________________________
Most people are able to maturely separate the closing remarks of the forum from the separate remarks the President had to make about the incident today.
Enough of your cheap shots. Show a little class.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 9:05 pm 9:05 pm

===“My immediate thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and with the families of the fallen and those who live and serve at Ft. Hood,” ===
No. His first thoughts were thanking cabinet members for a successful conference, reminding Native Americans he won’t forget them, shouting out to Joe, and taking applause for the actions he is going to take on their behalf. He then immediately thought of the wounded, families, and fallen.

Posted by: Axey | November 5, 2009, 9:15 pm 9:15 pm

The MSM may want to ignore that our president shows little compassion in the midst of this tragedy.
But it has already gone viral.
Why hide it?

Posted by: kyle | November 5, 2009, 9:16 pm 9:16 pm

“His outrage is feigned, his sorrow scripted. No person with a true sense of humility would do such a thing.”
____________________________________
Nonsense. You remember Bush joking about ‘maybe the weapons of mass destruction were hidden under his desk’ – after thousands had died in an invasion looking for weapons of mass destruction?
That completely lacked class and showed a lack of humility.
Obama – quite properly – gave his closing remarks to the forum, and then went on to address the incident today as a separate matter.
Try to honor what happened today and leave your partisan interpretation from blabbing out of your mouth – for decencies sake.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 9:24 pm 9:24 pm

He also won the Bronze Star, not the congressional medal of honor.
What a disaster.

Posted by: yamal | November 5, 2009, 9:30 pm 9:30 pm

===================================
Are all the media outlets going to ignore that he was also a Muslim?
===================================
Which explains why he was making statements that “Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressors”

Posted by: N Waff | November 5, 2009, 9:30 pm 9:30 pm

I can’t imagine the outrage if any other president had given a light hearted “shout out” before he addressed condolences about the shooting at VA Tech or Columbine.
The shooting at Fort Hood deserved Obama’s complete attention not an after thought.

Posted by: larry | November 5, 2009, 9:35 pm 9:35 pm

Whatever Bush did does not excuse Obama’s actions in this case.
You should know that.

Posted by: ceeLeelee | November 5, 2009, 9:35 pm 9:35 pm

“That completely lacked class and showed a lack of humility.”
I don’t know what it has to do with humility, but I agree that Bush should not have said it.
So I don’t see this as a partisan thing. You seem to, however: Even while leveling the charge of partisanship against others, you’ll jump on Bush but defend Obama’s childish and disrespectful behavior.
Props to your for your awesome copy and paste skills, though.

Posted by: PD | November 5, 2009, 9:35 pm 9:35 pm

Whatever Bush did does not excuse Obama’s actions in this case
________________________________________
No, there is no excuse for what Bush did and it does not excuse Obama.
What ‘excuses’ Obama is he was speaking as part of a forum today on Native matters. He quite properly gave his closing remarks to the forum – and then went on to address the incident today – as a separate matter.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 9:40 pm 9:40 pm

tierra, clearly you think Bush wasn’t acting presidential in that instance.
Why does it bother you when people express a desire for Obama to act presidential? It’s entirely reasonable to view that act of levity and view it as unworthy of the office. Telling us that we’re immature and lacking in class is unwarranted.

Posted by: PD | November 5, 2009, 9:48 pm 9:48 pm

Is someone blaming Bush for this? Outrageous!!!

Posted by: CW | November 5, 2009, 9:52 pm 9:52 pm

“Is someone blaming Bush for this? Outrageous!!!”
__________________________________
Amazing you people can’t focus on the soldiers killed today and continue to try to score political points.
It’s very simple and very straightforward – Obama was speaking as part of a forum today on Native matters. He quite properly gave his closing remarks to the forum – and then went on to address the incident today – as a separate matter.
That is way different from Bush cracking jokes about maybe the weapons of mass destruction are hidden under his desk – after thousands had died in an invasion because of those weapons of mass destruction.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 10:02 pm 10:02 pm

When the country is going through something awful they look to the president. Shout outs and sitting there reading a kid’s book are inappropriate responses. That’s the bottomline. The mood and the response MUST match the moment. Geez a soldier murdered other soldiers. If the president can’t figure out what a good response to a tragedy is, get a media consultant! Don’t just stand on TV in front of millions of people and look foolish. Everyone is looking to him to make sure everything will be OK.

Posted by: Lila | November 5, 2009, 10:07 pm 10:07 pm

I’m sure the Native Americans at the conference would have understood if the shout outs and congratulations came AFTER THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF addressed a National Tragedy.
He should have discussed Ft. Hood first and them moved on to closing the conference. It’s a matter of what is more important. Obviously political agenda and kudos come before our soldiers and heroes.

Posted by: Deb | November 5, 2009, 10:08 pm 10:08 pm

“I’m sure the Native Americans at the conference would have understood if the shout outs and congratulations came AFTER THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF addressed a National Tragedy.”
________________________________________
Sudden shout outs and congratulations after a solemn response to the incident? I think President Obama did the right thing and properly closed the meeting on a solemn, respectful and subdued tone.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 10:15 pm 10:15 pm

all u ppl do is complain and point the fingers, living a military life style is no easy thing. so all winers out can it, im proud to service ppl like you so the US can be safer. you should be mouning all of my brothers not causes hate that will not help us.

Posted by: airman | November 5, 2009, 10:21 pm 10:21 pm

Any mention of the shooters animosity towards the US and his identification with the radical Islamic uprising against America? No, I didn’t think so….
Bush’s fault, I’m sure.

Posted by: mjishernameo | November 5, 2009, 10:22 pm 10:22 pm

Sudden shout outs and congratulations after a solemn response to the incident? I think President Obama did the right thing and properly closed the meeting on a solemn, respectful and subdued tone.
======================================
I respectfully disagree with you. The deaths of 12 soldiers on US soil is a more important than closing a meeting.

Posted by: Deb | November 5, 2009, 10:22 pm 10:22 pm

“The deaths of 12 soldiers on US soil is a more important than closing a meeting.”
____________________________________
Of course its’ more important – that is why you would close the meeting on a very solemn note – which is exactly what the President did.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 10:26 pm 10:26 pm

in the airforce, we live by the wingman concept. if we dont look out for each other we all fail.

Posted by: airman | November 5, 2009, 10:27 pm 10:27 pm

“Any mention of the shooters animosity towards the US and his identification with the radical Islamic uprising against America?”
____________________________________
It’s all over the news now.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 10:29 pm 10:29 pm

____________________________________
Of course its’ more important – that is why you would close the meeting on a very solemn note – which is exactly what the President did.
Posted by: tierra |
=====================
To bad he waited 2 minutes to get around to it and only after a shout out.
you tube video T0hiw8iXdMM

Posted by: Deb | November 5, 2009, 10:30 pm 10:30 pm

“To bad he waited 2 minutes to get around to it”
_____________________________________
It’s very clear from that video President Obama was there to give his closing remarks to the conference, which he did – and then quite rightly moved to a very solemn and subdued tone to address the incident today – and he did it with great grace. He left the conference with the importance of the incident left front and center, and the respect for the dead and injured left as the final and most important thing he said.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 10:42 pm 10:42 pm

The President’s ‘shout-out’ on a day like this,was distasteful to say the least.I hate the pop culture his administration has reinforced. This guy apprently is such a narcissist, that what occupies his mind roemost is getting lory for himself – disgusting.

Posted by: Elizabeth | November 5, 2009, 11:06 pm 11:06 pm

“… what occupies his mind foremost is getting glory for himself -disgusting”

Posted by: Elizabeth | November 5, 2009, 11:08 pm 11:08 pm

Maybe Obama really is a robot.
He has two facial expressions–a silly grin and a cold blank stare.
How fitting that his bi-lateral prompters allow him to never look America in the eye.
If Obama was trying to comfort his military or our country–I think he failed today.

Posted by: luke | November 5, 2009, 11:08 pm 11:08 pm

Someone please teach Obama how to address a tragedy.–tyler
======================================
Hey, Tyler, I will go with you. Obama is no more a good speaker. So many American have already realized how Obama’s speech without THE PROMPT SCREEN becomes easily nightmare.
Since the White House is occupied by Obama, Jarrett and Rambo Immanuel, American can not hear “GOD BLESS YOU
JOYFULLY”.

Posted by: victoria-NJ | November 5, 2009, 11:11 pm 11:11 pm

The President’s actions today were boorish and not up to the standards one would expect from the Commander in Chief. I don’t care about excuses, I don’t care about what Bush did(although it is inconceivable to me that Bush would have a “shout out” when 11 servicemen were murdered on their base).What bothers me is that Mr. Obama did not even recognize how inappropriate it was.In a similar manner I was struck by the wild speculation on networks about how this monster was a victim of PTSD without ever having left the confines of Bethesda and WRAMC.The fact that maybe he was a self-centered jerk who wanted to to get out of his USUSHS obligation never entered any “reporter’s” mind.His rather blatant use of radical Muslim talking points on the Web also suggest that he was at heart a Muslim extremist who could justify his actions with religious excuses.What I don’t understand is how he ever got into the military medical school in the firstplace.

Posted by: Nephron | November 5, 2009, 11:11 pm 11:11 pm

Kay Bailey Hutchinson came out many times today and spoke from her heart.
She didn’t need a teleprompter.

Posted by: bailey | November 5, 2009, 11:13 pm 11:13 pm

_____________________________________
It’s very clear from that video President Obama was there to give his closing remarks to the conference, which he did – and then quite rightly moved to a very solemn and subdued tone to address the incident today – and he did it with great grace. He left the conference with the importance of the incident left front and center, and the respect for the dead and injured left as the final and most important thing he said.
======================================
Since when is a shout out Grace. I guess I missed the grace and solemnity.
I still respectfully disagree with you. It is obvious that nothing anyone says will change your mind. So go ahead a praise him all you want. I still say Troops deaths… then conference closing.

Posted by: Deb | November 5, 2009, 11:17 pm 11:17 pm

I don’t care about what Bush did(although it is inconceivable to me that Bush would have a “shout out” when 11 servicemen were murdered on their base).
___________________________________
What you ‘can’t imagine’ happened in much worse form when Bush joked about ‘maybe the weapons of mass destruction are under my desk’ after THOUSANDS of Americans died and many, many thousands more were maimed invading a country for those very weapons of mass destruction.
If you’re going to berate this President, comparisons to the last become completely legitimate.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 11:19 pm 11:19 pm

The troops and their families deserved Obama’s complete attention. Not something stuck at the end of a script on his teleprompter.

Posted by: ollie | November 5, 2009, 11:22 pm 11:22 pm

This wouldn’t be an issue if Obama had handled things the right way. Left-wingers just don’t care about the military so they defend Obama giving a shout out before he addressed the tragedy at Fort Hood.
Obama should have went straight to dealing with the tragedy at Fort Hood, and he should have started things off on a solemn and subdued tone with great grace and also ended things on a solemn and subdued tone with great grace. Obama did not do that. Obama = EPIC FAIL.
The Native Americans there would have understood, so no one needs to make any excuses for Obama. Obama is a disgrace to us all.

Posted by: Ray | November 5, 2009, 11:33 pm 11:33 pm

Posted by: Ray | Nov 5, 2009 11:33:19 PM
Nonsense Ray. It’s very clear from that video President Obama was there to give his closing remarks to the conference, which he did – and then quite rightly moved to a very solemn and subdued tone to address the incident today – and he did it with great grace. He left the conference with the importance of the incident left front and center, and the respect for the dead and injured left as the final and most important thing he said.
Listen there were people killed and injured today; your attempts to make political points by critiquing the President’s remarks is petty politics.
You really think this is a time for your petty politics?

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 11:40 pm 11:40 pm

As I said, I find it inconceivable that George Bush would have a “shout out” on the day that 12 soldiers were murdered on their base.The fact is that Barack Obama did- and he was wrong.And nothing that tierra says can obscure the fact that Mr. Obama did something that was really stupid and inexcusible.Maybe if he had served in the service he would have recognized how bad it was,then again he is no Phi Beta Kappa.

Posted by: Nephron | November 5, 2009, 11:41 pm 11:41 pm

Posted by: Nephron | Nov 5, 2009 11:41:17 PM
I get the impression you’re too young to remember Bush joking about how ‘maybe the weapons of mass destruction are under my desk’.
This was his attempt at being ‘funny’ after THOUSANDS of Americans died and many, many thousands more were maimed invading a country for those very weapons of mass destruction.
This act was of magnitudes larger than Obama making his closing remarks at the forum – and then turning to a separate – and important final statement on the incident today.
That you can’t recognize this is very sad.
If Obama made a blunder today, and I don’t think he did, it was infinitesimally small compared to the Bush atrocity.
We’re lucky to have him.

Posted by: tierra | November 5, 2009, 11:49 pm 11:49 pm

tierra…["Enough of your cheap shots. Show a little class."]
A little class? How about Obama? What he did today was despicable. I honestly thought that Obama was unaware that he had “the cue” that he was “on air”. I was willing to cut him some slack. But,I was mortified when I realized that he indeed, knew exactly what he was doing, by waiting several minutes to make a statement. His disdain for the military is palpable.

Posted by: littleleers | November 6, 2009, 12:01 am 12:01 am

tierra…
Bush is gone and yes I agree it was a totally tasteless joke and out of line. I did not vote for him for Gov. or Pres. But again.. he is gone and is not responsible for for Obama’s actions. Any of Bush’s mistakes are not reasons to excuse for Obama’s mistakes.
Either way Bush’s stupid remarks do not change what Obama did today. I’m sorry you won’t see it.
We will just have to disagree with each other.

Posted by: Deb | November 6, 2009, 12:03 am 12:03 am

So with the death of twelve soldiers and several more injured everyone is going to bicker about whether or not Obama’s speech was in poor taste? Maybe we should think more about the families of the fallen then what is and isn’t appropriate etiquette. Otherwise you really don’t look much better than he does.
The families and friends of the fallen will be in my thoughts tonight.

Posted by: Robert | November 6, 2009, 12:04 am 12:04 am

It’s just another speech to Obama.
They all run together.
He just reads the script.
Day after day after day–endless mindless speeches.
Two years of campaigning as a candidate and a year of campaigning as president.
Can you imagine three more years of this?

Posted by: larry | November 6, 2009, 12:06 am 12:06 am

Tierra,I will thank you for calling me young.Why must all of your excuses for Obama be as a comparison to what George Bush did? Even if Bush said something foolish or did something inappropriate,what the hell does that have to do with what Obama said today?Even if George Bush is the Antichrist and has 666 behind his ear,what in heaven’s name does that have to do with the actions of Barack Obama?Barack Obama still smokes-is that George Bush’s fault?I sometimes think that if Barack Obama ate a baby on live TV your response would be “George Bush did such and such”.Barack Obama is not the Messiah-he can make mistakes like us mortals.The fact that you can’t accept the fact that he is not infallible is unfortunate. I keep hearing how brilliant he is but no one can explain to me why he isn’t a Phi Beta Kappa.Oh, I’m sorry-George Bush isn’t a Phi Beta Kappa.

Posted by: Nephron | November 6, 2009, 12:11 am 12:11 am

Horrific outburst of violence? That’s what this was? I suspect it was something else entirely and am just fascinated by our press and our president falling all over themselves to not bring Major Hasans muslim background into question. The guy is a medical doctor, a psychiatrist, a Major in the US ARMY and we’re supposed to buy into the notion he cracked up because people were not being nice to him. He was being harassed? Please!! Not buying it.

Posted by: Buck7756 | November 6, 2009, 12:37 am 12:37 am

“The Fort has been secured”???????? If not an American Army Base,as large as Ft. Hood, Tx.,in the geographical location it is in, then what the hell is ever secure in this damn country? There are probably more armed men in that base, than there are in all of Pakistan, and it is not normally secure? When will we be secure? When every adult American has to raise their hand, and ask to be escorted to the restroom?

Posted by: jtcarter1 | November 6, 2009, 3:55 am 3:55 am

Obama is a piece of garbage but then I already knew that before his little shout out.
Typical liberal response…..Obama shows how classless he is so start bashing Bush. Bush is gone. Forever. Obama’s in the spotlight now. His every word and action will be scrutinized whether or not you koolaid drinking cultists like it or not.
Obama is a useless narcissistic a-hole. Apparently he still hasn’t gotten the memo saying that he’s not the messiah.
1/20/13 The end of a very bad joke.

Posted by: Mark P | November 6, 2009, 7:15 am 7:15 am

The new Obama channel….Look left, look right, look left, look right………

Posted by: LongT | November 6, 2009, 7:54 am 7:54 am

I think what I have a problem with generally is the double standard of the media. If Bush did what Obama did last night, I would argue forcefully that it would be covered extensively. This slip will be tossed down the memory hole because of the party affiliation of the president.
And I think it’s subconscious….the editors see Obama screw up and go, ouch, can’t have that. Out it goes. Now if Bush did it, they’d say, aha!, big news!
I simply want to see both sides covered fairly. THIS is why a lot of people are migrating to Fox News.

Posted by: JP | November 6, 2009, 7:54 am 7:54 am

Oh, sorry, notice how Bush’s response right after 9/11 has become the Pet-Goat Moment, because he kept reading to the kids? I think that is subconscious media bias in play. The meme is that it showed his ‘indecisiveness.’ What a laugh. I don’t think whatever the man’s weaknesses, you could argue that being ‘indecisive’ was one of them! I think like most people, he was blown away and wanted a few minutes to gather his thoughts. What a crime!

Posted by: JP | November 6, 2009, 7:58 am 7:58 am

I will admit that no I am not a fan of Obama nor was I a huge fan of Bush. I respect the fact that they both took on huge burdens in their positions. Obama’s lack of grace in his speech isn’t something I’m worried about. After, having just left Ft. Hood a few short months ago (June 2009). I am deeply saddened by this event. I know that the security of Ft. Hood is a daunting task considering its shear size.Yes, the event that happened is tragic. Whether you want to blame it on his ethnic/religious background or the simple fact that he disagreed with both wars to be the cause of this tragedy. Until Maj. Hasan declares his reasoning no body will know for sure what caused this. I am an active duty enlisted soldier and yes, I am in a combat oriented job. I have deployed to Iraq and will be deploying to Afghanistan in the near future. Although, I do not completely agree with my current commander I take everything that is said at face value. I look at and think about Obama as just another man doing a job because, that is what I am. We all make mistakes and we all have our successes. We scrutinize every little detail of every single action of our presidents to the point that we make them out to be the devil or christ re-incarnated. What happened at Ft. Hood yes, it is extremely tragic. What happened there hit me hard when I found out about it only an hour ago. We cannot continue to judge a man simply by a few words that he says. Only the outcome of his actions will be proof enough of whether or not his decisions were good or bad. Even though Obama’s reaction was at best a little distasteful the focus should be with the soldiers and families at Ft. Hood. Let the focus lie on the soldiers who were harmed by this occurrence.

Posted by: Aaron | November 6, 2009, 8:42 am 8:42 am

“I simply want to see both sides covered fairly. THIS is why a lot of people are migrating to Fox News.”
Both sides covered fairly?
In September, Fox’s Bill O’Reilly quoted from a University study which found that Fox News topped the list of most trusted television news outlets. However, O’Reilly left out the second half of the quote about Fox also being the LEAST trusted TV news outlet – more than a quarter of Americans surveyed didn’t trust Fox.
It’s November now. JP, when will Fair and Balanced Fox be telling us about the second half of the paragraph?

Posted by: WWW | November 6, 2009, 10:10 am 10:10 am

Nice to see the president in full ghetto mode. The shoutout was a lovely gesture – what, no fistbump?

Posted by: ConservativeWoman | November 6, 2009, 10:26 am 10:26 am

Wow!!! Once again the american public chose to re-direct their anger to the person who is suppose to be in charge. I am a United States Marine, and what i see since besides maybe one individual here whom have serve our nation, is tragic and maybe, just maybe a “Horrific outburst of violence”. Why do we seem to blame the act of the Major’s ethnicity on terrorism; what if the hhuman in him was truly fed-up? Did the other act of Violence in that city, Neighborhood, street, or base had a ethnic basis. Open your eyes people your president wasn’t the one doing the shooting and as bad as this may sound, when he heard about the incident, it was already by then an incident. We should not be comparing Presidents based on the bad decisions they make but for the awesome ones, George Bushes Re-action to the 9/11 incident was barely a re-action at all, he had no clue what he was suppose to do with the news given. Pres. Obama probably did the same thing, because just maybe as a human being they both needed a moment to think of the situation, I guess they should be sorry that as President of the United States, they will always have other things to do, and sometimes tragedy happens during those things.
“My Prayer goes out to the families of fallen Soldiers and the injured.
Put your faith in no man but God and he will give you strength.”
PFC Clarke
USMC, Cherry Point NC

Posted by: Yung_JR | November 6, 2009, 10:38 am 10:38 am

Scary stuff. This guy should have had red flags all around him. He was a sleeper cell if there ever was one.

Posted by: rachel | November 6, 2009, 10:57 am 10:57 am

Just another white, lone-wolf military vet Janet N. and the WH warned us about….right?

Posted by: J House | November 6, 2009, 11:07 am 11:07 am

You guys are just filled with hate for Obama. It doesnt matter what he does, your stance will always be just contempt and hatred of him. He could rescue your child from a burning building, and you people would drag your child back in just so he wouldnt have saved them.
Were any of you waiting to be comforted by Obama’s words? Were you just sitting at home crying your little eyes out, your little hearts in such despair, and you just had to hear him mention the shooting instantly? Somehow I doubt that. Like I said, you people would drag your own children back into a burning building. That is how deep your absolute hatred is for Obama.

Posted by: Truth | November 6, 2009, 11:08 am 11:08 am

I don’t know why people blame Obama for this.
I think some people only see his skin… and just assume that whatever he does is going to be insulting.

Posted by: gobot | November 6, 2009, 11:14 am 11:14 am

While I think that terrorism could have played a factor in the shooting.
It is also simply possible that the man was crazy. Every year murders like this happen. And I think it is strange to look at this one case and use it to judge billions of people.
I am glad that the press is treating the story seriously…. instead of jumping to conclusions because they match the biases of some people, who sneeringly mock Islam as the “Religion of Peace” and who would just as soon see all Muslims killed.
It’s disgusting and that kind of thinking as no place in the United States.

Posted by: gobot | November 6, 2009, 11:26 am 11:26 am

How does Gobot still have posting privileges?
Posted by: WhereWasThePress? | Nov 6, 2009 11:17:39 AM
I don’t know that I said anything untrue or offensive. I mean, maybe it’s offends some people when I say that “Obama did nothing wrong here.” But I don’t know that means a person should not be allowed to communicate…. because some other people are offended by a common sense observation about something that is blatantly true.

Posted by: gobot | November 6, 2009, 11:34 am 11:34 am

There is no relevant comparison between Bush’s reaction to the second plane flying into one of the World Trade Towers on 9/11 and Obama’s reaction yesterday, which we saw on television THREE HOURS after he had been informed.
We have no idea how appropriate or inappropriate Obama’s initial reaction to the Fort Hood massacre was, since he wasn’t being videotaped at that exact moment.
Obama had three hours to think about what his remarks should be, and he even had speech writers to help him choose the words.
Nevertheless, he came off as unable to speak extemporaneously, referring almost constantly to notes in front of him. But, worse, his tone of voice was his usual lecturing tone, as if we had to be instructed by him once again.
Obama is not as smart as advertised.

Posted by: dream | November 6, 2009, 11:50 am 11:50 am

There is no relevant comparison between Bush’s reaction to the second plane flying into one of the World Trade Towers on 9/11 and Obama’s reaction yesterday, which we saw on television THREE HOURS after he had been informed.
Posted by: dream | Nov 6, 2009 11:50:28 AM
For some people, the only appropriate response would have been what? Resignation…. and the appointment of Sarah Palin to president?
Give me a break. You find fault with everything the man does, before he even does it.
I hope that NY-23 is just a taste of what’s down the road for the GOP. The classless, uncivil dogs that run the party need to be handed a big plate of electoral failure.

Posted by: gobot | November 6, 2009, 11:54 am 11:54 am

gobot…Gotta love those throw backs of the 60′s who use the “skin” card in order to discredit debate on valid issues…blah blah blah….I don’t even waste my time discussing issues with someone who throws out the race card, just a political tactic vomited from the 60′s generation….

Posted by: Parallex View | November 6, 2009, 11:58 am 11:58 am

gobot:
The appropriate reaction for Obama would have been to actually CARE, a feeling he did not demonstrate very well. It was an afterthought for him, as if the massacre had interrupted his planned day in some bothersome way.
His remarks were perfunctory at best.
Your comments are typically Obama-robot in assuming I am a Palin supporter, which I am not. I am surprised you have held back from using the race card on any of us who do not see Obama as anything other than an empty suit.

Posted by: dream | November 6, 2009, 12:10 pm 12:10 pm

You all that continue to use race as any part of your argument are ridiculous. I am a black woman and Obama is devoid of judgment, soul and anything real. There is no emotion in his speech. And if this situation was so “horrific” and “horrible” and since it was a “tragedy” it should have been addressed FIRST! These are our OWN! American Soldiers! Dying on American soil! Bad enough that they die over seas but on our soil?? Does he care about Americans? Does he care about our soldiers? I say No! He has left them to DIE in Afghanistan with no back up in sight, while he continues to wait to decide. What is he waiting for? To see how many more Americans die? In fact I think he finds pleasure in that! No wonder they were at the bottom of his itinerary. Tragic

Posted by: Sickening | November 6, 2009, 12:48 pm 12:48 pm

Whenever something terrible happens in the news, I always try to cheer myself up by playing this fun little game. It’s called “How Is This Going To Be Obama’s Fault?”. It’s really fun!
Here’s how it works, in case any of you kids want to play at home:
Step 1: Watch the news.
Step 2: Whenever something bad happens, try to guess how the right-wing fanatics are going to twist it around to make it Obama’s fault.
Step: 3: Get on the internet or tune in to some right-wing talk radio and see if you guessed correctly.
The beauty of this game is that no matter how unconnected Obama is with the tragedy, the right-wing fanatics will ALWAYS find a way to blame him. Hours of fun for the whole family!

Posted by: Smack | November 6, 2009, 1:48 pm 1:48 pm

Fox is where its at

Posted by: Roe | November 6, 2009, 2:08 pm 2:08 pm

Hey Roe – welcome to the world of a conservative from 2000 thru 2008 except it was the Bush game.
The irony of your post is beyond belief.

Posted by: Anon Jim | November 6, 2009, 2:30 pm 2:30 pm

“The irony of your post is beyond belief.”
Anon Jim, I believe you were talking to me, not Roe.
If my post had mentioned Bush at all, then perhaps there would be some irony. Like, if I had said “Liberals never blamed Bush for anything, but Conservatives blame Obama for everything”, ok, then yes, that would have been ironic. But I didn’t say that at all.
I think what’s ironic is that song by Alanis Morriset (or however you spell it) called “Isn’t it Ironic”. What was ironic about that song is that she obviously didn’t know what the word “irony” actually meant. You and her have that in common, I guess.
But, hey – if changing the subject is your best argumentative technique, then by all means, go for it.

Posted by: Smack | November 6, 2009, 2:54 pm 2:54 pm

Obama used a teleprompter which I find ingenuine

Posted by: JB | November 6, 2009, 3:24 pm 3:24 pm

Of course Obama didn’t talk about it immediately…he was trying to come up with how to phrase “uh oh, ir was a Muslim like me” into “let’s don’t jump to conclusions”.
Nice try. To all your defenders of this guy comparing 9/11 to this…it doesn’t wash. It wouldn’t have happened had Clinton done something about the first attack in New York, so go watch CNN or your soap operas since you don’t work.

Posted by: Joe | November 6, 2009, 3:41 pm 3:41 pm

Funny how he talks about giveing the troops what they need, but he wont help the troops over sea’s that are at war.

Posted by: Matt | November 6, 2009, 3:59 pm 3:59 pm

First President Bush was reading to school children when he was informed of the 9/11 attack. What was he was supposed to do? jump up in a panic and scare the 5 year olds in the room? I did care for President Bush’s policies, but I did commend him for his control.
Obama on the other hand was in a Tribal Nations Conference and when he did address the nation instead of speaking about what the nation was wanting to hear he had to open his comments about the TNC and give “shout outs” totally uncalled for!! He was insensative and cold. Families were grieving, he could have given a better “comforting speech” period!!

Posted by: Pam in TN | November 6, 2009, 4:38 pm 4:38 pm

Damn I cannot believe that Obama did this.
I cannot believe that the Obama people gave a shout out to the News media that he was going to give an address on the shooting.
When Obama takes the potium he spends over two and 1/2 mins giving a shout out to the native Americans..
Ok I thought Bush was not to bright, but this takes the cake.
Do not dare bring up Bush continuing with the Children’s story for I have to admit Bush did the right thing there. I at first was mad at Bush but realized later he was trying to do his best to break away without creating a panic. (I am far from a Bush supporter).
The situation with Obama was totally different for he had scheduled this and many people had tuned in just to hear what he had to say about Ft Hood. Obama needs to get off the campaign trail and start being a president.

Posted by: kinthenorthwest | November 6, 2009, 6:54 pm 6:54 pm

For crying out loud. Ok, fine, Obama came off way to “canned speech” here. Maybe he should of just canceled the speech, and be shown mourning over the loss, and gone on TV sobbing about it.
I had thought, after 8 years of the last administration, no one cared how the president handled public speaking.

Posted by: Rich | November 6, 2009, 9:07 pm 9:07 pm

What the hell is wrong with you people? You’re like those zombies in that movie 28 Days Later – completely enraged over absolutely nothing at all. No matter what Obama does or says, you are frothing at the mouth and screaming bloody murder. It is absolutely bizarre.
Look, zombie people – the guy didn’t do anything wrong here. A terrible tragedy happened and he made a speech. That’s it. That’s what Presidents do. Kind of like the “back to school” speech that you got so freaked out about. And before the speech, he gave a “shout out” to a Congressional Medal of Honor winner. That would usually be considered patriotic; not grounds for impeachment.
It truly is sad that the loudest people in America are also the most irrational. I suppose that’s not a coincidence.
I wonder what the next outrage will be. It could be anything. Obama could literally jump into a freezing lake and save a small child, and I’m 100% positive that you people would find some way to spin it into something negative against him.

Posted by: Smack | November 7, 2009, 6:48 am 6:48 am

Maybe it’s just me, but I have a hard time understanding why the reports felt the need to close an article about the President’s response to a shooting at a military base by stating “It’s worth noting that Fort Hood is located in Killeen, Texas, home to the deadliest shooting rampage in modern US history until the Virginia tech Massacre.” What, exactly, does a mass killing 18 years ago have to do with the President’s comments?

Posted by: Wayne | November 7, 2009, 8:43 am 8:43 am

I saw the speech. Before it started we were glued to the TV because the breaking news of a massive shooting of American troops at Ft Hood. The media stated that the president was about to speak about this tragedy. The president walks up to the podium and starts giving shout outs to people in the audience and after a few moments of acknowleging other people and supporters of his. This went on long enough for my wife to ask “Does he even know about the shootings?” Then he gave a quick canned response about the soldiers at Ft hood being in his prayers. THERES NO WAY THIS MAN SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A LEADER OF THIS COUNTRY.

Posted by: jonf1023 | November 7, 2009, 10:06 am 10:06 am

Though I did not want to jump to conclusions about the speech Obama gave, I can tell you that from what I saw Obama did nothing more than he was told to do. He read a speech from a teleprompter at the time he was told to do it. I am guessing he was told to give shout outs because he was obviously at this conference for some agenda. All this seems a bit to robotic to me. As for out-spoken, crazy right-wingers blaming? Well I guess its your turn now. We had to deal with it the last eight years. Thats just the way it go. Get used to it.

Posted by: RB | November 7, 2009, 11:21 am 11:21 am

“As for out-spoken, crazy right-wingers blaming? Well I guess its your turn now. We had to deal with it the last eight years. Thats just the way it go. Get used to it.”
Ah, I see. So that’s what it’s about. Pay back. Of course. I should have known it had nothing to do with the actual issues themselves. Neo-cons are mad because the President they produced turned out to be so incredibly unpopular (22% approval rating, holy crap!), so now they’re going to jump up and down like angry gorillas every single day over every single issue, regardless of whether or not it makes any sense.
Then on the other hand… if that’s what I have to put up with – in exchange for having Democratic control of the White House and both houses of Congress – then I guess it’s not such a bad deal.
Thanks, I feel better now.

Posted by: Smack | November 7, 2009, 9:12 pm 9:12 pm

i am a soldier in the army and i would like to say that i don’t feel that obama has done anything for us…not even giving us real emotions toward a tragedy like this. i’m not in fort hood but i have so many battle buddies there…anyway, people always have everything to blame on the president and sometimes it’s wrong but i truely believe that obama doesn’t care.

Posted by: linda | November 11, 2009, 2:34 pm 2:34 pm

WOW

Posted by: Jaxon | November 13, 2009, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm

Who said anything about race? Correction; it is President Obama to everyone. Everyone always think they know how to do a certain job. Even if the president cried, you would have still said if was not real. Just give it up

Posted by: Rich | November 28, 2009, 1:18 pm 1:18 pm

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